New Ivory Coast box terminal to be built in Abidjan

CHINA Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has signed a contract for the construction of Abidjan's second container terminal, known as Cote d'Ivoire Terminal (CIT) which is expected to become operational at the end of 2021.

The new terminal will be operated as a joint venture between Bollore and APM Terminals (APMT) under a 20-year concession, at the end of which the assets will be returned to port authority Port Autonome d'Abidjan (P).



Bollore and APMT will invest EUR400 million (US$473 million) in the construction of the terminal and equipment and, once completed, the facility will employ more than 400 people at its go-live with a similar number of people being employed for its construction.



Located adjacent to the existing Abidjan Terminal, the new terminal aims to enhance the port's competitiveness and add an additional 1.2 million TEU annual capacity in its first phase of development.



In recent years, Ivory Coast has seen a solid GDP growth rate averaging 6-7 per cent per annum which has resulted in significant growth in import and export volumes.



With the additional capacity provided by CIT, the terminal and the Port of Abidjan will be able to position itself as a preferred gateway for surrounding landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.



Said CIT managing director Koen De Backker: 'Shipping lines have started to deploy very large container vessels on the trades to/from West Africa that need deep water facilities and modern terminals able to handle them with much higher productivity.'



CIT was first formed in 2013 and the first phase of the project, which consisted of the deepening and widening of the Vridi Canal access channel, was handled by the P.



More than 45 hectare of land was also reclaimed for the creation of the new CIT and an adjacent roll-on roll-off (ro-ro facility).



An $80 million expansion at the existing Abidjan Terminal was already completed in 2015, increasing the facility's annual container capacity from 800,000 TEU to 1.5 million TEU.



CIT will have a rail yard with two tracks of 300 metres each, as well as reefer plugs for up to 1,100 containers, and a contract was signed in August 2020 for the supply of new equipment.



The contract included the supply of six post-panamax gantry cranes, 12 electric rubber-tyred gantry (E-RTG) cranes and 36 tugmusters.



Said Mr de Backker: 'A more efficient and competitive port, with latest generation handling equipment and deep draft, will help reduce the cost of handling cargo, and fuel trade growth and transshipment volumes.'



Significant transshipment volumes destined for Guinea (Conakry), Sierra Leone (Freetown) and Liberia (Monrovia) are expected, reports UK's Container Management.


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