Geo-strategically located on the Horn of Africa, Sudan is deemed as one of the mostimportant country of Africa, having access to Red Sea and further to theMediterranean Sea via Suez Canal.
One would wonder why Sudan has so far notbeen able to exploit the world’s busiest sea-lane to its advantage. The country’s only
major port, Port Sudan, has so far been unable to generate the revenue it was
supposed to.
Plagued with infrastructure challenges and ethnic strifes, Port Sudan’soperational capabilities are severely affected, leading Sudan further into economicslump. Sudan is in dire need of a port, which would provide an alternative yet
effective means of channelling the export-imports imbalances currently faced by it.Since the ouster of Omar al Bashir in April 2019, Sudan has been consistently trying
to put its economy back on track. The latest initiative of Sudan Government to build aport in collaboration with UAE is being seen as a much needed breather for Sudan’s
plunging economy. According to Sudanese Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, amemorandum of understanding (MoU) has been reached between the UAE and
Sudan for building a port.The proposed Abu Hamama Port, located about 200 km North of Port Sudan, will be
the first major foreign investment since the end of Al Bashir’s regime. Reuters reports that the port is part of $6 billion investment by UAE and is a joint project between DAL group and Abu Dhabi Ports (owned by Abu Dhabi Holding Company
ADQ) as stated by DAL Group chairman Osama Daoud Abdellatif. The Port will have a Free Trade Zone, an international airport and Industrial Zone as well. Abu Dhabibased IHC and DAL Agriculture will also invest $1.6 billion in agricultural projects in
the town of Abu Hamad in northern Sudan for which 4,00,000 acres of land will be
leased.
The project involves the growing and processing of alfalfa, wheat, cotton,sesame and other crops. A 500 km toll road linking the proposed port will be constructed at an investment of around $450 million. A $300 million deposit to the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) is also part of the investment deal, which wouldease Sudan’s depleted foreign reserves.
A country where over 47 per cent of the population lives below poverty line, theproposed $6 billion Investment by UAE, is set to provide respite to Sudan’s volatile
economy. Local youth would have more employment opportunities, and it may also
encourage tourism and benefit the economy. Debt relief may be provided asSudanese debt amounts to over $60 billion (more than double the size of the
country’s economy). The proposed connectivity with the world via the new port may
normalise the already chocked Supply Chain Managements, which has so fardeterred international companies to invest in Sudan. Revenue generated from this
investment could benefit other regions of Sudan.
It is expected that the proposed Abu Hamama Port would help Sudan not only at the local level but regional & international levels. Locally grown products could become
viable for export . Moreover, with this investment, development, and enhancement of
port infrastructure Sudan could tie-up the weaker links in supply chains like road and
railway connectivity inside the country and to the other African nations like Ethiopia,
a landlocked nation, which currently relies on Djibouti to export / import more than 90
percent of its products.
However a Facebook post by former Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Hashim ibn Auf reveals China’s ulterior motives with regard to the project. China is creating
roadblocks in the proposed project and coercing the Sudanese government to walk away from the port deal with UAE.
Abu Hamama port, modelled on Dubai’s Jabel Ali, will deal with all kinds of commodities and compete with Port Sudan and Haidob port, which is about 60 km to the south of Port Sudan where China has invested heavily (49%). Constructed by
China Harbour Engineering Co. at a cost of $140 million, Haidob Port is primed to facilitate export of livestock for Asian markets. It is a significant component in China’s
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Beijing knows how to adequately exploit and penetrate the political-economic-military
network of the African region from a strategic point of view. These are evident from
the investments it has made in Africa. For example, China made its first military base
abroad in Djibouti ,a small but strategically important country in the Horn of Africa.
Similarly Sudan’s Haidob port acts as a facilitation hub for landlocked African
countries. These installations vie to safeguard Chinese interest in the African region.
In fact, an important connection on the international waterways between the Red
Sea and the Indian Ocean as well as a strategic proximity to the three international
chokepoints of Suez Canal, Bab al-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz, from which about
45% of the world’s cargo including oil pass, makes Chinese aspiration of dominating
African market clear.
China’s long focus on consolidating market monopoly in the African region is
furthered by BRI. To exploit raw materials and tap the abundance of natural
resources, China has lured African nations into a debt burden. Through BRI, it has
invested immensely and has altered the financial and political condition in the region.
Sudan has been under the huge debt of China and it owes over 20 billion dollars to
it. Chinese direct and indirect investments in Sudan are estimated to be around 29
billion dollars.
Data reveals that countries once trapped in Chinese debt succumb to Beijing’s
pressure. Chinese formulaic modus operandi i.e. wielding control and influence
through debt over its economic partners is well known phenomena. Sri Lanka is the
prime example and currently facing the worst economic crisis since its
independence, majorly due to Chinese debt trap diplomacy. In Africa itself, countries
like Namibia, Guinea are reeling hard under Chinese debt pressure. Their economy
has succumbed to Chinese monopoly and currently facing severe sovereignty
issues.
The recent Sudan-UAE port deal is expected to break the Chinese monopoly.
Haidob port is a significant link route of BRI to access African market. Analysts view
that the new Sudan-UAE venture would significantly curtail the Haidob port’s
importance, and in all probability, the Chinese built port is likely to become a white
elephant project. As China does not want any other player in African region, which
may hinder its influence in terms of security, economic and political interests, the
entry of UAE in Sudan is likely to rattle its ambition of controlling the emerging
markets and untapped potential of Africa.