PORT INFRASTRUCTURES: THE IVORY COAST POSITIONS ITSELF AS THE MAJOR HUB OF THE WEST AFRICAN COAST
The ports of Abidjan and San Pedro are two essential levers that support the growth of the national economy and contribute to the country’s influence. Since 2012, significant investments have been made in the port sector. The Ivorian government’s objective is to make Côte d’Ivoire a logistics hub for the sub-continent.
The Ivorian ports are positioned as first choice platforms on the Atlantic coast of Africa. The State has undertaken a series of massive investments to ensure the operational efficiency of Ivorian port infrastructures.
At the Abidjan Port Authority , the inauguration of the second Container Terminal (TC2) on December 2, 2022 is in line with the major projects already carried out. This new container terminal is built on an area of 37.5 ha for a total investment of CFAF 596 billion.
“This project has both a major economic interest in terms of its contribution to the growth of the national economy, but also social significance as a provider of many direct and indirect jobs,” said the Vice-President of the Republic, Tiémoko Meyliet Koné.
According to the Director General of the Abidjan Port Authority, Hien Yacouba Sié, the second container terminal can handle 2.5 million containers annually and permanently employ about 450 people. He recalled that since 2012, the government has invested CFAF 1,100 billion in port activities.
The Abidjan Port Authority, inaugurated in February 1951, ensured 76% of trade between Côte d’Ivoire and the outside world in 2021. With 30 million tons of goods per year, the Abidjan Port Authority concentrates 50% of the most important industrial units of Côte d’Ivoire and generates about 55,000 direct and indirect jobs. It is considered as the lung of the Ivorian economy.
Located 350 km from the economic capital, in the southwest, the autonomous port of San Pedro is experiencing the same dynamism. Indeed, in 2012, the port’s general management adopted a master plan for development up to 2035. It revolves around seven structuring projects that will be carried out in two phases. The objective of these major projects is to increase the supply and quality of port services and strengthen the competitiveness of the port.
On September 14, 2022, Prime Minister Patrick Achi, inaugurated the Multipurpose Industrial Terminal of San Pedro (TIPSP), with a capacity of 11 million tons/year. This industrial terminal has two quays, one of which is 220 meters long and founded at a depth of 14 meters in the water and the other, 270 meters long, is founded at a depth of 15 meters. The realization of this work has cost 130 billion CFA francs. It will strengthen the position of this second port and make it a real pole of geostrategic development of Côte d’Ivoire and an engine of regional integration. With this new infrastructure, the port will facilitate the access of landlocked regions to reliable transport services, at efficient costs and transit times.
The planned expansion will significantly improve the performance of the Port of San Pedro, the world’s leading cocoa export port with more than one million tons per year. Thus, traffic will increase from 6 to 100 million tons with the creation of 50,000 new jobs and an increase in the contribution to customs revenue from 300 to 1500 billion CFA francs.
All these achievements confirm the ambition of Côte d’Ivoire to position itself as the major hub of the West African coast, with large modern functional and competitive port platforms that support the national economy.
Source and photos: Official Portal of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire
