Global Port Services Burundi

Global Port Services Burundi, commonly abbreviated as GPSB, is a Burundian port-services company responsible for operating the Port of Bujumbura under a public-private concession. The port is located on Lake Tanganyika and serves as an important entry and exit point for Burundi’s international trade. GPSB’s activities cover the receipt, handling, storage-related movement, weighing, and delivery of import, export, and transit cargo arriving by ship or truck. The Port of Bujumbura predates GPSB. Construction of the port was completed in 1959, and its operating model subsequently evolved through concession arrangements involving the Burundian state and private investors. In 1992, the port was leased for ten years to EPB, or Société Concessionnaire de l’Exploitation du Port de Bujumbura. EPB was structured as a public-private partnership in which the state held 43 percent and private interests held 57 percent. The concession was later extended and continued through the end of 2012. GPSB emerged as the concessionary operating company during the transition from the earlier EPB arrangement. Decree No. 100/311 of 27 November 2012 authorized the Burundian state to acquire an ownership interest in GPSB. The concession was established for thirty years, with an option for a further thirty-year renewal. The company therefore combines a commercial logistics role with a public infrastructure function, linking lake transport and road haulage to Burundi’s import and export economy. Cargo handled by GPSB is predominantly imported merchandise. In 2011, before the current concession period was fully established, more than 90 percent of cargo passing through the port consisted of imports. Approximately 60 percent of those imports entered by ship and 40 percent by truck. Imports are removed from the port by truck, while exports generally arrive by truck and leave by ship or truck. This operating pattern makes the company relevant not only to port users but also to customs administration, road transporters, freight forwarders, and businesses dependent on regional supply chains. GPSB has periodically changed its operating procedures and charges in response to customs-control requirements and throughput objectives. In April 2016 it introduced handling charges for trucks that entered the port but were unloaded at private premises outside the port. Previously, such trucks were weighed when entering the port and then weighed again after unloading so that the cargo weight could be calculated. Under the revised procedure, containers were weighed before leaving the port, allowing Customs to compare the measured weight with documentation and determine whether off-port unloading could proceed. GPSB charged for the use of its weighing equipment. The company has also faced workforce and governance developments. In December 2014, it dismissed more than 70 employees for economic reasons. From 2021 onward, a government-appointed joint commission examined GPSB’s ownership structure. The commission’s recommendations led to a proposed decree in March 2023 and a presidentially signed decree in April 2023 concerning the state’s shareholding. The same review process recommended an inquiry into the acquisition of 18 boats transferred from Belgium to Burundi, although the available reference material does not establish a finding of wrongdoing by GPSB. In January 2023, GPSB began operating around the clock, seven days a week. The measure was intended to reduce the time vessels spent waiting at the quay for unloading and to encourage greater use of Lake Tanganyika shipping. GPSB’s present identity is therefore that of a national infrastructure operator whose brand is associated with port concession management, cargo handling, customs-related controls, and the integration of lake and road transport.

The Port of Bujumbura was built in 1959 to provide Burundi with a lake-port facility on Lake Tanganyika. Its role is to receive and dispatch goods moving through maritime and road channels. Imports are generally removed from the port by truck, while exports are brought in by truck and may depart by ship or truck. The port consequently functions as a connection between lake transport, inland road freight, customs processes, and Burundi’s wider import-dependent economy. In 1992, operation of the port was transferred through a ten-year lease to EPB, the Société Concessionnaire de l’Exploitation du Port de Bujumbura. EPB was organized as a public-private partnership, with the state holding 43 percent and private interests 57 percent. The lease was later extended and remained in force until the end of 2012. A new concessionary structure was authorized by Decree No. 100/311 of 27 November 2012. The decree permitted the Burundian state to take an ownership share in Global Port Services Burundi, the company formed to manage the Port of Bujumbura. The concession period was set at thirty years, with a possible additional thirty-year renewal. GPSB thus became the operating brand associated with the port’s commercial management and cargo-handling functions. The company’s operational history includes both labor and procedural changes. In December 2014, GPSB dismissed more than 70 employees for economic reasons. In April 2016, it changed the treatment of trucks that transited the port but were unloaded at private facilities outside the port. Rather than relying on a second weighing after unloading, the revised process weighed containers before they left the port. This enabled Customs to compare the recorded weight with the transport documents when deciding whether off-port unloading could occur. GPSB charged users for the weighing-machine service. Ownership became a subject of formal review in 2021, when a joint commission was established to examine the company’s shareholding. On 15 March 2023, the Council of Ministers proposed a draft decree, retroactive to 14 December 2012, that would set the state’s shareholding at 64.21 percent, described in the reference material as more than 1.7 billion Burundian francs. President Évariste Ndayishimiye signed the decree on 7 April 2023. The commission also recommended an inquiry into the acquisition of 18 boats transferred from the Kingdom of Belgium to Burundi; the available material does not provide the outcome of that inquiry. In January 2023, GPSB introduced continuous operations, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The purpose was to shorten vessel time at the quay and encourage greater lake traffic. This initiative reflects the company’s role in improving the efficiency and attractiveness of the Port of Bujumbura rather than merely providing a static cargo facility. GPSB’s history is therefore shaped by concession reform, state participation, port-process regulation, labor decisions, ownership review, and efforts to increase the use of Lake Tanganyika as a transport route.

• 2023

  GPSB adopts round-the-clock operations

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  The company began working continuously throughout the week to reduce vessel unloading delays and support lake traffic.

• 2023

  State shareholding is set out in a signed decree

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  A decree signed on 7 April 2023 provided for a 64.21 percent state shareholding in GPSB, following the ownership review.

• 2021

  Ownership review commission is established

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  A joint commission was formed to examine the ownership of GPSB.

• 2016

  New weighing and handling procedure begins

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  GPSB introduced handling charges and revised weighing procedures for cargo transported to private unloading locations outside the port.

• 2014

  More than 70 employees are dismissed

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  GPSB dismissed more than 70 employees, citing economic reasons.

• 2012

  GPSB concession structure is authorized

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  Decree No. 100/311 authorized state participation in GPSB and established a thirty-year management concession with a possible thirty-year renewal.

• 1992

  EPB receives the port concession

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  The port was leased for ten years to EPB, a public-private concession company with state and private ownership.

• 1959

  Port of Bujumbura is built

  [1]Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org

  The Port of Bujumbura was constructed and became a facility for handling Burundi’s lake and road cargo flows.

A national port and logistics infrastructure operator connecting Burundi’s lake and road freight flows through the Port of Bujumbura.

• Port management · 2012

  Port of Bujumbura concession operations

  GPSB operates the Port of Bujumbura under a long-term public-private concession. The service includes coordinating the arrival and departure of cargo, supporting vessel and truck movements, and managing the port processes through which imported, exported, and transit goods pass.

• Cargo handling

  Import and export cargo handling

  The company handles goods entering Burundi by ship or truck and goods brought to the port for export. Imports are transported out of the port by truck, while exports may leave by ship or truck, making GPSB an operational link between lake shipping and inland road transport.

• Port compliance services · 2016

  Cargo weighing and customs-support services

  GPSB provides weighing-related services used in cargo-control procedures. Since the 2016 process change, containers destined for unloading outside the port could be weighed before departure so that Customs could compare the recorded weight with transport documentation.

• Transit logistics

  Transit cargo services

  GPSB handles transit goods moving through the Port of Bujumbura. These activities involve coordinating port receipt, cargo control, and onward movement by road or lake transport, although the available reference material does not specify individual transit routes or customers.

• 2023

  Transition to continuous port operationsStrategy

  Background

  GPSB sought to reduce the time that vessels spent waiting at the quay to be unloaded and to increase the attractiveness of lake transport.

  Action taken

  The company began operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

  Aftermath

  The stated objective was faster vessel processing and increased traffic on Lake Tanganyika; the available material does not report quantified results.

  Source

• 2023

  State ownership is revised following a formal reviewOther

  Background

  A joint commission created in 2021 examined the ownership of GPSB and made recommendations to the government.

  Action taken

  The Council of Ministers proposed a decree providing for a 64.21 percent state shareholding, and President Évariste Ndayishimiye signed it on 7 April 2023 with retroactive effect to 14 December 2012.

  Aftermath

  The decree formalized a majority state interest according to the cited reference. The commission also recommended an inquiry into the acquisition of 18 boats transferred from Belgium to Burundi.

  Source

• 2016

  Introduction of handling charges for off-port unloading movementsPrice change

  Background

  Trucks taking cargo through the port for unloading at private premises outside the port had previously been weighed on entry and again after unloading.

  Action taken

  GPSB introduced handling charges and required containers to be weighed before leaving the port, charging for use of the weighing machine.

  Aftermath

  The revised process gave Customs a pre-unloading weight for comparison with cargo documents and supported decisions on whether off-port unloading could proceed.

  Source

• 2012

  Establishment of the GPSB concessionStrategy

  Background

  The earlier EPB concession was scheduled to end in 2012, creating the need for a new legal and operating structure for the Port of Bujumbura.

  Action taken

  Decree No. 100/311 authorized the Burundian state to take an ownership share in GPSB and provided for a thirty-year management concession with an option for a further thirty years.

  Aftermath

  GPSB became the concessionary company associated with operation of the Port of Bujumbura.

  Source

1. 1Global Port Services Burundien.wikipedia.org