In this chapter we argue that "soft" transport infrastructure can increase the cost of trade. We illustrate our argument with the examples of two port bureaucracies in Southern Africa. Since these bureaucracies hold a discretionary monopoly over the provision of a non-substitutable essential public service, they are susceptible to corruption. We find that the magnitude and the type of corruption that emerges at ports are correlated with the extent to which rules, regulations and the organizational features of bureaucracies give public officials the bargaining rights and opportunities to extort bribe payments from shippers.