Djibouti: President Ismail Omar Guelleh presides over the inauguration ceremony for four new high-capacity gantry cranes and the extension of the storage yard

On Monday 22 January 2024, His Excellency Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti, together with the Prime Minister of Djibouti, the Djibouti Minister for Infrastructure and Equipment, and the Chairman of DPFZA, inaugurated the new Malaccamax container cranes and the extension of the storage yard with a capacity of 200,000 TEU/year.

The 4 new gantry cranes installed by Société de Gestion du Terminal à Containers de Doraleh (SGTD) are state-of-the-art equipment, specifically designed to handle the services required by the largest ships, including 23,000 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) vessels 135 metres in height.

With a capacity of 100 movements per hour, the highest rate currently achieved, SGTD’s new gantry cranes enhance the country’s vocation to play a leading port role in the region.

They are also undoubtedly proof of the costly investments that the Republic of Djibouti is deliberately making to preserve its status as port leader in the region and to meet the challenges of international competition.

In his address, the President of the Republic of Djibouti described “SGTD’s new gantry cranes as a further and decisive step in his country’s ongoing quest to equip itself with all the attributes essential to its status as the region’s leading port”.

“In addition to the benefits for our country, the commissioning of this equipment connects our region to greater economic diversity and, as a result, to the prospect of a higher level of trade relations”, President Guelleh also added.

The commissioning ceremony for SGTD’s new gantry cranes was attended by Djibouti officials, SGTD’s partners and representatives of foreign diplomatic and consular corps accredited to the country.