The Port Attractiveness Index:Application On African Ports

The overall operational reputation of a port is based on objective factors, including infrastructure endowments and efficiency in the logistics chain as well as on perceived subjective factors such as reliability, and level of corruption. In this work we analyze the concept of port attractiveness, starting with the hypothesis that subjective port determinants (i.e., user perception) and objective/endogenous and exogenous factors can be quantified together. We thus determine the Port Attractiveness Index and test it using 41 container ports of 23 African countries for the period 2006-2010. We apply a bottom-up ap-proach to investigate the structural relationships among the three sets of deter-minants (endogenous, exogenous and subjective) that impact on port attractive-ness. Our methodological approach employs structural equation modeling. Results indicate that subjective factors are indeed influential variables for port attractiveness. Moreover, when examining port attractiveness and investment strategies, we demonstrate that in many cases in African ports governments should implement soft infrastructure as a first step rather than investing in hard infrastructures.