BENIN’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE Developing competitive services that meet international standards and making the best investment decisions regarding the introduction of new capacity will be fundamental in meeting the needs of Benin’s importers and exporters and in exploiting the role that Benin could play in handling transit cargo for countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, and Togo.

## **Box 1. Port administration models: A scale of public and private involvement**

Four main categories of ports have emerged over time. The categorization is based on the following characteristics: (i) public, private, or mixed provision of services; (ii) local, regional, or global orientation; (iii) ownership of infrastructure; (iv) ownership of superstructure and equipment; and (v) status of dock labor management.

**Service port** : These ports have a predominantly public character. The port authority offers the complete range of services required for the functioning of the seaport system. The port owns, maintains, and operates all assets, and cargo-handling activities are performed by labor employed directly by the port authority. Service ports are usually controlled by (or even part of) the ministry of transport and the chairman (or director general) is a civil servant appointed by the ministry.

**Tool port** : The port authority owns, develops, and maintains the port infrastructure as well as the superstructure, including cargo-handling equipment such as quay cranes. Other cargo handling onboard vessels as well as on the apron and on the quay is usually carried out by private cargo-handling firms contracted by the shipping agents or other principals licensed by the port authority. This division of tasks is related to the essential problem with this type of model: split operational responsibilities. The tool port has a number of similarities to the service port, both in terms of its public orientation and the way the port is financed.

**Landlord port** : These ports are characterized by their mixed public-private orientation. Infrastructure is leased to private operating companies and /or to industries. The lease to be paid to the port authority is usually a fixed sum per square meter per year, typically indexed to some measure of inflation. The lease amount is related to the initial preparation and construction costs. The private port operators provide and maintain their own superstructure. They also purchase and install their own equipment on the terminal grounds. Dock labor is employed by private terminal operators, although in some ports part of the labor may be provided through a port-wide labor pool system.

**Private port** : In fully privatized ports, port land is privately owned. This usually requires the transfer of ownership of land from the public to the private sector. The main risk in this type of arrangement is that port land can be resold for nonport activities, thereby making it impossible to reclaim it for its original maritime use.

_<u>Source</u>_ <u>: Adapted from World Bank 2007c.</u>

# Rail

## **Achievements**

Efforts have been made to improve the functioning and capacity of Benin’s rail system and to bring fresh capital to an investment-starved system. In February 2010, through a competitive process, a concession was granted to a privately owned company. But because OCBN is a joint Niger–Benin venture, Benin requires the agreement and involvement of Niger in any concession agreement—and so far Niger has not been willing to engage in a concession agreement.

16