Hapag-Lloyd has opened an office in Tema, Ghana, where it will manage all of its West African activities.
Anthony Firmin, chief operating officer at Hapag-Lloyd, said: "Our West Africa Express (WAX) service from and to West Africa has been operating with extraordinary success for several years and is very well received by customers.
"With our new East Africa Service (EAS), connecting Saudi Arabia with Kenya and Tanzania, we have entered another new trade. As a result, we are tying Africa even more closely to our global network while benefitting at the same time from positive economic developments in large parts of Africa," he added.
Hapag- Lloyd said the GDP of West Africa has grown significantly in the last two years, rising by an average of 6 percent annually, with Ghana among the fastest growing economies in the region. Growth has been driven primarily by the trade in gold but also in oil and gas products.
