PMAWCA, A COOPERATION INSTRUMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PORTS IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA .

Activités portuaires Thursday 18 January 2024

Established in October 1972 under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA) the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa( PMAWCA)is a Subregional Maritime Organization which covers the ports located along the Maritime Chain including Mauritania and Angola.

As a specialized Maritime Organization in West and Central Africa ( MOWCA),PMAWCA has the mission to contribute to the improvement in the quality of port services in order to promote a sustainable socio-economic development of the member ports in the West and Central African Sub –region.

To achieve this mission the association has set itself the main goal of facilitating cooperation among the member ports and sharing of best practices in terms of port management and operation in order to provide effective and efficient services to customers ( shipowners,and shippers) while maintaining a secured and ecologieal environment within the port areas.

To date ,PMAWCA  has 24 member ports which are Port Authorities and associate members ( terminal operators ,consignees shippers, maritime,administrations etc -) and observers( ports located outside the geographical area of PMAWCA, consultants and training institutes).

PMAWCA in ,its operation ,relies on several statutory bodies, namely:

The Annual Council,the Board of Directors, the Secretariat,the Technical Committees and the Special Networks.

As part of its activities and in accordance with its missions and objectives,the association has initiated several projects of which the most recent under implementation are the following :

Partnership for sustainable ports( SPP) which aims at ensuring sustainable transition of member ports through the establishment of a cooperation and collaboration mechanism allowing Port Authorities and operators to improve environmental and social impacts related to their operational activities and infrastructure development .

The IPCOEA project which aims at improving the efficiency of administrative and customs procedures in port operations with the implementation of single windows.

Note that Abidjan Port Authority (PAA),a founding member actively takes part in all PMWCA’s initiatives and,this in keeping with its international cooperation policy which is  one of the mainstays of the management strategy of Mr Hien Yacouba SIÉ,the Managing Director.