The Containers Conference is a bi annual event organized by the Sea Ports Corporation (SPC) in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport, Roads and Bridges, Sudan.
This edition of the conference was jointly hosted by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT) which is a Regional Institute for Maritime Transport training founded by the Arab League with technical aid from the United Nations’ organizations specialized in the field of maritime transport. The AASTMT is based in Alexandria, Egypt.
Ms Nozipho Mdawe, PMAESA Secretary General, made a presentation at the conference on the importance of logistic corridors to ports. She highlighted the importance of having a holistic approach to the development of the entire supply chain.
The conference which drew over 300 participants was also attended by the Minister for Transport, Roads and Bridges, Sudan, Eng. Mekawy Ahmed Awad and the Wali of Red Sea State, HE Ali Ahmed Hamed
The conference participants were drawn from SPC- Sudan; Sudan Customs; the ministries of Transport, Finance, Trade & Industry (Sudan); Experts from the AASTMT; Shipping community in Sudan; Transport service providers; Representatives from the Working Women’s Association; Students from the Maritime College; the Media and other related stakeholders.
They came from Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Dubai and China.
The discussions held in the conference ranged from capacity building, port infrastructure investments, role of corridors to ports, ICT developments and aspects of port security.
The AASTMT was represented at the conference by a number of experts in the fields of maritime, security and ICT. They underscored the need for capacity building in port authorities. They have had varied success in training personnel from SPC at the Alexandria based institute.
A presentation by the customs authority also highlighted the need to close loop-holes in the customs cleating processes and shared with the audience a single window system currently in place. A presentation was made by a Chinese company in charge of development and construction of Sudanese Ports of Suakin and Dama Dama
Presentations from the SPC team consisted of infrastructure, ICT and security developments at the port.
In parallel to the conference proceedings, a conference exhibition was also held.
PMAESA Secretary General held discussions with the top officials from AASTMT to explore ways of collaborating with them in regards to human resource capacity building and sea-based training.
The PMAESA Secretary General also held talks with the General Manager of SPC, Dr Jalal Eldin Shelia, to pave the way for the forthcoming PMAESA annual conference due for 27th to 30th November 2016 at Port Sudan.