Common factors affecting ports on the West African coast

Abstract

The object of this paper is to point to some of the common factors, which are operating now in those ports. There a clear relationship between port development and the economic and social advance of countries in tropical Africa. The seaport emerges as the vital permissive factor- influencing economic development. Seaports have a multi-functional character and provide natural growth poles for a wide range of industrial and commercial activity. The pert is only a link in the complex chain of transport operations between producer and consumer and ca. only be as efficient as the other links permit. A major factor determining the rate of discharge or loading of vessels is the 8peed with which goods can be cleared from one sheds and backup areas or assembled at the berth.