{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-29/antwerp-bruges-npa-port-benchmarking","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-29/antwerp-bruges-npa-port-benchmarking.md","title":"Port of Antwerp-Bruges and NPA Launch Port Benchmarking Framework","headline":"Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Nigeria's NPA Develop Port Performance Benchmarking Framework","description":"The Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Nigeria's NPA have built a port performance benchmarking framework, with NPA offering to share it with other African ports.","section":"Partnerships","published_at":"2026-10-29T01:00:40+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-29T01:00:40+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["The Nigerian Ports Authority developed a port performance benchmarking framework with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.","NPA Managing Director Dr Abubakar Dantsoho proposed a PMAWCA working group on artificial intelligence and data governance.","Dantsoho asked each PMAWCA member port to identify one high-impact AI pilot with a baseline, an accountable team and a measurable target."],"companies":[{"name":"Port of Antwerp-Bruges","is_primary":true,"profile_url":null,"website":"https://www.portofantwerpbruges.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"Punch Newspapers","title":"NPA partners Antwerp-Bruges on port benchmarking","url":"https://punchng.com/npa-partners-antwerp-bruges-on-port-benchmarking/"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Partnerships","Port of Antwerp-Bruges"],"body_markdown":"The Nigerian Ports Authority has developed a port performance benchmarking framework with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, its managing director, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, said, adding that the NPA is ready to share the framework with other African ports. Punch Newspapers [reported](https://punchng.com/npa-partners-antwerp-bruges-on-port-benchmarking/) the announcement.\n\n## How the Antwerp-Bruges Benchmarking Framework Works\n\nDantsoho said the framework was built with the Belgian port and that the NPA would pass on what it learned to ports across the continent. \"The NPA had developed a port performance benchmarking framework in collaboration with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, and I want to express NPA's readiness to share the experience with other African ports,\" he said.\n\nThe NPA has also held deeper talks with technology suppliers and development partners on common requirements for cybersecurity, interoperability, skills transfer and data sovereignty, Dantsoho said. He proposed a working group on artificial intelligence and data governance under the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa, the regional body he presides over, with cybersecurity and digital resilience added to its remit.\n\nEach member port should pick one high-impact AI pilot backed by a baseline assessment, an accountable implementation team and measurable performance targets, he said. \"I invite each member port to identify one high-impact AI pilot, with a baseline, an accountable team and a measurable target. Start with the problem—not the product,\" he said.\n\nDantsoho said port authorities need clear rules on who owns, accesses, shares and protects port data, and that concession agreements should set out data management duties. Technology contracts, he added, should promote interoperability rather than lock ports into single suppliers. \"Data sovereignty does not mean isolation. It means benefiting from innovation while retaining the capacity to govern its use,\" he said.\n\n## Port of Antwerp-Bruges Expansion Moves Before the Framework\n\nThe Port of Antwerp-Bruges said in October 2026 that it would expand its China team to serve exporters better as freight shipments from China to Europe rose, Yicaiglobal reported. The port closed the annual trading period with container throughput of 13.63 million TEUs, up 0.7% year-on-year, while total maritime freight fell 4.1% to 266.5 million tonnes, EIN Presswire reported.\n\nIn September 2026, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever pitched the Port of Antwerp-Bruges as a gateway for Indian exports to Europe at the India-Belgium High-Level Dialogue in Mumbai, The Tribune reported. Power to Hydrogen said in August 2026 that it had delivered and begun installing a 0.5-megawatt anion exchange membrane electrolyzer at the port, its first commercial deployment of M-Class hybrid electrolyzers, Indianchemicalnews reported.\n\n## PMAWCA Council in Sipopo to Hear Progress\n\nDantsoho said progress on the proposed initiatives should be reported at PMAWCA's next Annual Council in Sipopo, Malabo. He said the NPA was prepared to share both its successes and the challenges it met in Nigeria's digital transformation.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}