Rogers IDS Madagascar (Velogic Madagascar)

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Interview with

Mr. Tony Yue Chi Ming
Country Manager

What can you tell our readers about the history and ownership of Velogic?

Headquartered in Mauritius, Velogic combines over 50 years of experience and in-depth expertise in the logistics business.

The Company has a clear and ambitious growth strategy and leverages its key competitive advantages through its extensive resources, network, and capabilities.

Present with 35 offices located strategically in 6 countries, Velogic serves clients worldwide in numerous sectors, from fashion and retail to construction, healthcare, and projects. Velogic leverages the expertise of its employees and management team in the logistics field, across all sectors and geographies.

Velogic’s purpose is to make trade easier for its clients by enabling them to have the best logistics solutions, providing relevant information proactively, and helping them grow their business. Our company offers its customers an integrated and comprehensive logistic solution with a wide range of services including freight-forwarding, customs brokerage, haulage, warehousing, express courier services, container-related services, maritime transport services, ship agency, and project cargo handling.

In 1992: VELOGIC opened a new Branch in Madagascar and has now 9 offices spread across the island: Ankadimbahoaka Antananarivo (Head Office), Ivato Antananarivo, Mamory Antananarivo, Antsirabe, Toamasina, Majunga, Tuléar, Fort Dauphin, and Sambava.

In 2017: VELOGIC became the UPS service contractor in the Indian Ocean, including Mauritius, Reunion Island, and Madagascar.

Madagascar is a huge island, not always mentioned in the shipping news. Could you tell us more about the main ports used on the island for project and related cargoes?

Port of Toamasina

The Port of Toamasina is Madagascar’s main port, handling approximately 80% of the country’s international maritime traffic. It is located on the east coast of Madagascar .

It is well-connected to major roads around the country and ensures the distribution of imported goods across Madagascar. It is primarily a container handling facility, and the port container terminal is one of the largest in the Indian ocean region.

Port of Toliara

The Port of Toliara is located on the southwest coast of Madagascar. The port deals with general cargo, but the main import product is cement, while the main export products include timber, seafood, mica, industrial stone, sisal, etc.

Port of Ehoala

The Port of Ehoala lies on the southeastern coast of Madagascar and includes a harbor near a natural bay, providing convenient anchorage for vessels. The port handles agricultural products such as rice, corn , and sisal but also dried fish, wood, and beans. It also handles Imports and Exports for Rio Tinto (Mining Company).

Can you organise inland transport in Madagascar?

Yes, Velogic can organise inland transport in Madagascar as we have contract agreements with most of the reliable inland local transport companies.

Madagascar’s road network are unfortunately among the least developed in the world, and most of its national and local roads are in poor condition.

How about customs clearance on the island? Is that difficult?

The Malagasy Customs is quite strict and uses a system called SYDONIA WORLD. The procedures must be well-adhered to. For example a BSC (Bordereau Suivi des Cargaisons) is needed. This system was developed by Gasynet, and this is required for all imports to any destination in Madagascar. Without this validation, no cargo can be customs cleared.

Please tell our readers about the size of Madagascar and also elaborate on some of the logistics challenges you are facing (it could be infrastructure, roads, etc.)

As already stated, Malagasy Customs is quite strict and there is also a BSC procedure in place which is not applied in many countries which also increases the customs clearance time .

The road infrastructure in Madagascar is quite challenging and inexistent in some places where the project cargo needs to be shipped. This is why a full road and land survey is required for new projects, so that we can check if it is feasible by road. For example, river bridges may be limited in the size and weight they can hold, and this will determine the type of transport we need to use. In some other remote locations, we should rent small planes, like the Cessna, to be able to access and deliver cargo in small quantities.