Public Management

Côte d’Ivoire : $1.4 billion to be invested in Abidjan port by 2020

Côte d’Ivoire : $1.4 billion to be invested in Abidjan port by 2020
Thursday, 28 February 2019 19:10

More than XOF800 billion ($1.4 billion) will be invested to extend and modernize Abidjan’s autonomous port in Côte d’Ivoire by 2020, the prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly indicates.  

In the framework of that project, Vridi canal inaugurated last February 21 has been resized. The infrastructure is estimated at $255,575,018 (about XOF150 billion), 85% funded by Eximbank China and 15% by the port.

Thanks to this infrastructure, Abidjan port will be able to receive all-size conventional container ships with a 16-meter draft while previously it was 12-meters and the max size of the ship it could receive before was 260-meters. This new configuration will also help reduce waiting times due to the canal being unable to receive some ships. It should also enhance the attractivity of this port.

Abidjan now wants to be a regional hub

During the inauguration of the canal, authorities expressed their ambitions for Abidjan port that takes care of 85% of international exchanges and provides 75% of customs revenues. Along with other large construction projects among which is the construction of a container terminal, Abidjan wants to become a regional hub.

"The enlargement and the deepening of Vridi canal helps reposition Abidjan port as a sub-regional hub in the maritime transport sector. These works will inexorably impact the port’s activities that will now be able to receive latest-generation vessels,” Amadou Gon Coulibaly said.

“Via those infrastructures, we want to be the main port on the African Atlantic coast between Tangier and Cape Town”, Hien Sié, the port’s managing director, declared.

Formerly the second container port on the African Atlantic coast after Lagos port in Nigeria, it was overtaken by Tema port (Ghana) some years ago and by Lomé port (Togo) in 2015, according to data from Dutch maritime analyst Dynamar.

With these important investments, Abidjan is thus trying to regain control of a market where the competition is getting tougher. For this purpose, it also has to tend to some problems like the high fees in Abidjan port. Indeed, according to the World Bank, the cost of a container transiting via Abidjan port is 59% higher at exports and 44% higher at imports.

Borgia Kobri & Zeinab Dosso 

Additional Info

  • communiques: Non
  • couleur: N/A
On the same topic
Metier Capital Growth Fund III invests an undisclosed sum in Watu Group. Watu operates in 8 African markets, with over 2 million loans disbursed since...
Gabon signed a $3 billion deal with Afreximbank to finance priority investments. The move follows a meeting between President Oligui Nguema...
• BCEAO holds key rates, citing stable growth and low inflation• WAEMU GDP grows 6.5%; inflation drops to 0.6% in Q2• Risks persist from insecurity,...
• WEF identifies 37 financial instruments for nature, highlighting 10 as priority solutions delivering both financial returns and ecological outcomes.•...
Most Read
01

From Dakar to Nairobi, Kampala to Abidjan, mobile money has become a lifeline for millions of Africa...

Africa's Boundless Future: How a simple mobile phone became a pocket bank for millions
02

Airtel Gabon, Moov sign deal to share telecom infrastructure Agreement aims to cut costs, boo...

Gabon’s Airtel, Moov to Share Towers Under Govt-Brokered Deal
03

• WAEMU posts 0.9% deflation in July, second month in a row• Food, hospitality prices drop; alcohol,...

WAEMU Region Records Second Straight Month of Deflation, at -0.9% in July 
04

Malawi votes in high-stakes presidential election Tuesday Economic crisis, inflation dominate vot...

Malawi’s Election Puts Incumbent Chakwera to the Test on Inflation and Fuel Shortages
05

Vision Invest invests $700m in Arise IIP, Africa’s largest private infrastructure deal in 202...

Saudi Arabia’s 2025 Shopping List Now Includes Industrial Parks in Africa — With a $700 Million Entry Ticket
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72


EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.