Jobs are the best way to end poverty – giving people hope for a better future, dignity, and a leg up on the ladder of opportunity.
The maritime sector represents an important area of development, with significant potential to help bridge the looming job gap for the 1.2 billion young people who will reach working age over the next 15 years.
Ports support industrial development, connect countries to regional and global markets, and generate millions of jobs worldwide.
By investing in infrastructure, improving regulatory and business environments, and catalyzing the private sector – the three pillars of the World Bank Group’s job strategy – we can unlock this potential.
The maritime transport sector drives the global economy, with ports serving as strategic hubs at the center of job creation, international trade, and global economic activity.
Today, the maritime sector directly employs 30 million people and supports more than 90 million indirect jobs.
The impact is reflected in this sector’s scale: it moves 80 percent of global trade by volume and 70 percent by value.
Beyond shipping and port operations, the maritime economy sustains employment across shipbuilding, logistics, fisheries, tourism, energy, and related services.
By connecting countries to regional and global markets, ports support industrial development, enable economic growth, and generate millions of jobs worldwide.
Yet the ability to benefit from the maritime transport sector depends heavily on geography, infrastructure, and investment factors that shape opportunities and constraints for developing economies.
Developing economies must exert twice the effort as developed countries to transport items.
Goods going to or coming from developing countries often travel longer distances, both internationally and domestically.
Many of these shipments also consist of heavier, lower-value commodities such as minerals or ores. Together, these factors increase costs and logistical burdens, particularly for landlocked countries and small island states.
While many countries have their own ports, they are often overburdened and underdeveloped, unable to adequately meet the demands of evolving import and export needs.
To address these evolving challenges, the World Bank Group works with countries in an array of ways to help ensure their ports and logistics are keeping up with demand to improve performance, create jobs, and improve lives.
With an active portfolio of more than US$5 billion, ports represent a critical area of engagement across the entire World Bank Group.
By partnering on projects in places like Comoros, Timor-Leste, Senegal, and elsewhere, the World Bank Group is helping connect millions of people to employment, attract transformational private investment, and create the conditions for sustainable growth around the globe.
Comoros: Boosting jobs and growth
Comoros is an archipelago situated off the coast of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean with a total population of about 830,000.
The country is primarily composed of three main islands: Anjouan, Grande Comore, and Moheli.
It is at the heart of the main shipping route of the Indian Ocean along the African coast.
However, poor connectivity among and within the islands, underpinned by aging and overtaxed ports, means that much of the country’s growth potential remains untapped.
Port Boingoma, on Moheli, is the main point of entry for the 55,000 residents of this island, 53% of whom live below the poverty line.
Inadequate infrastructure and shallow waters mean that cargo arriving here must be reloaded to smaller vessels and shipped, translating into high port tariffs, extra costs to port users, and higher prices for residents of the island.
Passenger ferries and maritime freight operators often skip or refuse to call at Port Boingoma altogether, leaving the island further isolated.
Today, the port can handle only small vessels, providing about 30,000 to 40,000 tons of cargo per year, constricting access to both imported goods and export opportunities – depressing economic opportunities and driving up prices.
Furthermore, difficult weather often combines with these inadequate conditions, making the port inaccessible for an average of two working days per week and two weeks every month.
To address these challenges, the Comorian government is working with the International Development Association (IDA) to improve maritime transport between islands in the country, boost economic capacity, and enhance the resiliency of the country’s ports to allow for more and better operations throughout the entire year.
New, longer quays will be built, and areas of the harbor will be dredged to better accommodate cargo vessels, ferries, and fishing boats. These improvements will support local businesses and complementary industries, such as fishing.
A breakwater will also be built to provide maximum protection against waves, allowing for transport ferries to operate for more than 330 days a year, a significant increase from the 149 today.
Senegal: Mitigating Risk Through MIGA Guarantees
Offering competitive navigation times for all of West Africa and contributing to regional integration and trade.
Recognizing the transformational economic and social potential of the port of Dakar, the government of Senegal has embarked on a journey to modernize, upgrade, and expand its container terminal at the new port of Ndayane.
Fundamental to this transformation, as well as to similar large-scale investments in maritime infrastructure, are guarantees designed to mitigate risks associated with public and private sector investments in emerging markets.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) supports governments in attracting private sector investments by mitigating political and commercial risks, paving the way for large-scale projects such as port construction and other infrastructure initiatives.
In 2023, MIGA issued an 18-year guarantee of US$550 million to several banks for their loan to Senegal to increase its ownership stake in DP World Dakar S.A., the container terminal operator at the port of Dakar and the future port of Ndayane, also known as the “Port of the Future.”
This followed an earlier guarantee of US$99 million to modernize the existing port of Dakar, where current container terminal operations face challenges with the dense urban environment and growing road traffic congestion in and around Dakar, constraining the containers’ removal from the port and their dispatch toward the entire territory.
The new port of Ndayane is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs, with tens of thousands more anticipated from the expanded trade resulting from this work.
The MIGA guarantee supports the Port of the Future project, expanding Senegal’s container handling capacity from 0.8 million 20-foot equivalent units in 2023 to 1.5 million units once operations begin, and accommodating the world’s largest container vessels.
This guarantee allows Senegal to increase its participation in the port sector, which occupies a vital place in the country’s economy, given the importance of trade and the country’s strategic location as a gateway to landlocked countries in West Africa.
Timor-Leste: IFC and the Power of Leveraging Private Capital
A decade ago, the port outside of Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, was struggling to keep pace with the island’s rapid economic growth.
Increased shipping volumes and inefficient operations were dampening the economic potential of this small island nation and creating dangerous conditions for port workers.
To address the challenges of the moment and the opportunities for future development, the government of Timor-Leste partnered with IFC transaction advisory services on one of the biggest single investments the country has ever seen.
This partnership aimed to build a modern port under the auspices of the country’s first Public Private Partnership (PPP).
It provides access to lucrative shipping lanes and the potential for more trade, investment, and jobs.
IFC helped facilitate the $490 million investment, working to attract world-class investors for the first time and helping build capacity in key institutions.
“With the implementation of the Port Project, through a public private partnership (PPP), which represents the largest private investment to date in public infrastructure in the country, the Government gives a signal to other investors that Timor-Leste is an attractive place to do business,” notes Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak.
The project has created 1000 jobs, attracted investment, and stimulated growth.
Knowledge at Work
Lasting transport solutions can help boost inclusive growth, reduce vulnerability to extreme weather events, increase economic opportunities, and create jobs.
For the maritime sector, this can mean significant gains in both efficiency and emission reduction.
Knowledge is a fundamental component in unlocking these gains.
The World Bank Group works closely with its partners to shorten the distance from insight to implementation by turning knowledge into best practice when designing and implementing projects.
By employing robust knowledge products, rigorous analysis, and applicable tools, we make our work faster, more efficient, and more effective.
For example, to better help developing countries benefit from these gains, IFC has introduced the Transport Innovation Platform for Sustainability, or TRIPS, to help integrate sustainability across maritime operations.
TRIPS is a one-stop shop that empowers transport operators by providing customized advisory and investment solutions to accelerate sustainability goals and meet financing needs, at the corporate or asset level.
Analysis shows that energy efficiency improvements in shipping could reduce ship emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2030, half of which could be cut at no cost.
Furthermore, up to US$220 billion could be saved annually in the transition to more expensive green fuels by tackling efficiency in shipping, thereby reducing green fuel costs and mitigating market volatility.
In addition to direct benefits, energy efficiency measures also yield positive outcomes for ports, including improved port efficiency, decreased local air pollution, and reduced costs.
IFC is supporting its shipping sector clients in assessing their fleets’ efficiency and identifying optimal retrofits to increase fuel efficiency and reduce costs.
The platform also serves as a global network for industry players to connect, share experiences, and exchange ideas.
Additionally, tools and analyses, such as the Port Reform Toolkit and the Container Port Performance (CPPI) Index, represent an additional set of resources helping countries measure performance, recognize trends, and identify areas for development which can maximize benefits and minimize costs in maritime development.
The CPPI measures the time container ships spend in port, making it an important point of reference for stakeholders in the global economy and for the sustainable development of ports.
By focusing on vessel time in port as the core metric of performance, the CPPI highlights significant changes in ports’ operational efficiency and aids in identifying emerging patterns in global maritime logistics.
For over two decades, the Port Reform Toolkit has been one of the most comprehensive guides for implementing port reforms.
The current, third edition, covers both traditional, private sector participation as well as groundbreaking trends that will influence ports in the decades to come – offering an enhanced toolbox for policymakers and industry professionals to manage port reform and improvement processes effectively.
Loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and grants from the International Development Association (IDA) provide countries with the innovative financial solutions and advisory services needed to invest in large-scale infrastructure development.
IFC supports the development of transportation infrastructure in emerging markets through investment and advisory services, including public-private partnerships (PPs), to both invest in ports and expand the availability of PPPs in the port sector.
And guarantees by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) are vital to ensuring the viability of these investments by both the public and private sectors.
Guarantees help underpin the long-term and sustainable opportunities created through our World Bank Group engagement.