Dubai-based DP World has commenced work on the $1.2 billion Port of Ndayane, with the aim of transforming Senegal into a major centre for global trade.
The Willem Van Rubroeck vessel is set to dredge a five km-long shipping channel to build a high-capacity port.
The project’s first phase also includes an 840m quay to accommodate the world’s largest container ships.
This phase will build capacity to handle 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. Phase Two will add a further 410m quay, positioning Ndayane as a logistics hub in West Africa.
The Port of Dakar, a DP World asset in Africa, has expanded significantly to handle 800,000 TEUs in 2023 from 300,000 TEUs in 2008.
However, the Dakar port’s location within a densely urbanised area limits expansion, making Ndayane a strategic port to support Senegal’s long-term trade and economic growth.
DP World group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the Port of Ndayane will elevate Senegal and boost trade across the African continent.
He said the company would also develop an economic zone near the port and Blaise Diagne International Airport.
DP World is working with British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance agency, to fund the project.
BII estimates the port will boost Senegal’s GDP by 3 percent through increased trade flows, potentially adding $15 billion in trade value by 2035.
During construction, the project will create over 1,800 jobs and once operational is expected to support 22,000 jobs in Senegal tied directly to expanded trade.
Last month, Liz Bains wrote in AGBI that the UAE ports operators AD Ports Group and DP World are showing an unquenchable thirst for acquiring new assets in Africa.
DP World’s extensive list of ports and terminals in Africa comprises Djen Djen and Djazair in Algeria; Ain Sokhna in Egypt; Berbera in Somaliland; Bosaso in Somalia; Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania; Maputo in Mozambique; Luanda in Angola; Dakar and Ndayane in Senegal; Banana in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and inland container terminals at Kigali in Rwanda and Komatipport in South Africa.
source/content: agbi.com (headline edited)
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The Willem Van Rubroeck dredger is starting work on a 5 km-long shipping channel for DP World’s Ndayane port in Senegal
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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E)