ABIDJAN, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Ivory Coast has accomplished building of a second container terminal at its predominant port in Abidjan, paving the way in which for it to grow to be a regional transport hub, officers mentioned late on Friday.
Port authorities mentioned the undertaking value about 596 billion CFA francs ($953 million) and was 85% financed by China’s Eximbank and 15% by the Ivorian state.
It’s a three way partnership between France’s Bollore (BOLL.PA) and APM Terminals, a part of Denmark-based firm A.P. Moeller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO).
The port in Abidjan already serves Ivory Coast, French-speaking West Africa’s largest financial system and the world’s prime cocoa producer, and can also be a gateway for landlocked nations to the north.
The brand new container terminal will be capable to obtain massive ships from Asia, Europe and America that beforehand needed to land items in South Africa, transferring them to smaller ships to succeed in West Africa. It began operations on Nov. 1 however was formally unveiled at a press convention on Friday.
“We’re now not a second port. We have gotten a hub,” mentioned Andre N’Doli, technical director of the terminal, referred to as Cote d’Ivoire Terminal (CIT).
“Along with nationwide site visitors, we are going to deal with site visitors from different ports that can’t accomodate massive vessels,” he instructed reporters.
The terminal is anticipated to permit Abidjan to extend container site visitors to three million TEU containers from 1.2 million TEU containers per yr, port authorities mentioned.
($1 = 625.5000 CFA francs)
Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly, Enhancing by Nellie Peyton, Kirsten Donovan
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