• The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved grant financing in November 2025 to fund feasibility and preparatory studies for the Mandji Island port and industrial zone project.

• The feasibility programme is now underway, with “bankable” technical, environmental and structuring deliverables expected by December 2026.

• The studies will focus on key success factors—especially energy availability—amid growing interest from international partners, including Turkey.

The feasibility studies for the Mandji Island port and industrial development zone have been launched, marking a concrete step in Gabon’s ambition to build a competitive logistics and industrial platform near Port-Gentil. Backed financially by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the programme is designed to produce the technical and institutional groundwork required to move from concept to an investable project, with final deliverables scheduled for December 2026.

AfDB support, approved in November 2025, targets the preparatory phase: the work needed to define what should be built, under which technical and environmental conditions, and according to what economic model. Rather than funding construction, the grant is intended to finance the studies that investors and lenders typically require before committing capital—studies that convert a development vision into documented, costed and risk-assessed project packages.

Mandji Island’s strategic location near Port-Gentil positions it as a potential anchor for industrial activity linked to maritime trade, hydrocarbons-related services, and broader diversification efforts. The objective of the feasibility programme is therefore twofold: to determine the most realistic configuration for a port-oriented economic zone and to identify the enabling conditions—regulatory, infrastructural, environmental, and commercial—without which the zone would struggle to attract and retain private operators.

A central pillar of the study effort will be energy availability and reliability. For most port and industrial zones, power is a decisive constraint: it shapes operating costs, determines the types of industries that can be hosted, and influences investor appetite. The Mandji studies are expected to assess the current and future capacity of supply, the options for expanding generation and grid access, and the potential for integrating lower-carbon solutions where viable. This energy focus will be examined alongside other fundamentals such as water and wastewater capacity, transport connectivity, land readiness, and the practical requirements of industrial tenants.

Beyond infrastructure, the feasibility work will address the broader “success factors” of a special economic zone: governance and management structure, investment promotion mechanisms, realistic phasing, and a value proposition that aligns with market demand. This includes clarifying which value chains are most credible in the near term, how the zone would compete regionally, and what incentives or services would be necessary to convert interest into signed commitments.

International attention around the Mandji project is growing, with several countries reported to be following the initiative closely, including Turkey. This interest reinforces the need for credible, transparent documentation. For partners and investors, feasibility deliverables are not formalities; they are the evidence base that determines whether participation is commercially and operationally defensible.

The December 2026 target for deliverables is intended to culminate in a set of bankable documents—technical designs and costings, environmental and social assessments, and implementation arrangements—that can support the next stage: mobilising financing and selecting partners for development and operation. If executed rigorously, this preparatory phase can reduce uncertainty, surface constraints early, and improve the odds that Mandji evolves into a viable port-industrial platform rather than an underutilised zone on paper.

Idriss Linge