This analysis was aimed at analyzing the proposed inland dry port projects in Malawi to decide which of them is a priority project. This Analysis used Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis method. It involved four alternatives and five criteria elements. According to this analysis, Nsanje project is the most priority inland dry port project with 31% priority score. The second one is Mbamba Bay project with 25% priority score. Followed by Liwonde project with 24% priority score and finally Chilumba project with 18% priority score. Criteria wise, proximity to major ports is the most priority criterion with a 29% score. Payback period and economic benefit was second important criteria with a 22% score. Bilateral and regional support is the third important criterion with an 18% score. Room for expansion and future demand had a 16% score hence being the fourth important criterion. Environmental considerations had a 15% score being the fifth important criterion. The government of Malawi should prioritize the alternatives and consider the criteria elements in the order of importance as stated and recommended in this analysis. There is also need for partnership with Korean government and companies on financing, design and development of these ports.

The need for improved port call performance in African ports is way overdue as none of the African sea ports appear on the top 100 sea ports in the World as presented by the Lloyds list. The performance of ports greatly serves and benefits various stakeholders besides the country in which they belong. These stakeholders do include but not limited to third-party logistics providers, vessel/ship owners etc hence the need to improve port call performance is critical. There is not much studies available that tackle the issue of port call performance a hence creating a gap which this study opted to fill and contribute towards the assessment of Africa maritime trade contributors port call performance as most of the ports in Africa are deemed not efficient. Hence this analysis aimed at analyzing the performance of African top ten leading countries that contribute to the global maritime trade and later combine both African countries and the world’s top ten leading maritime trading countries as a benchmark to establish an improvement strategy from which low performing DMUs in the analysis were to borrow a leaf from. Having conducted the study, some African countries came out to be more performing. A few adjustments are to be made for them to improve their port call performance. However, their performance was still above average in comparison to the world’s leading countries that posed as benchmark and a standard port call performance operation strategy.