Plans were unveiled for a massive new deep-water port development project in Senegal on the north west coast of Africa. Global ports and logistics company DP World announced that it has signed an agreement valued at more than $1.1 billion with the Government of Senegal for its biggest port investment to date in Africa.
The plan calls for the creation of a new 1,500-acre port at Ndayane, near Dakar, that will be located approximately 30 miles from the current port and near the international airport. Along with a 700-acre container terminal and an adjacent free trade zone. A new company, DP World Dakar, is being established a joint venture between DP World and the Port Authority of Dakar.
In announcing the project, they said that the new port will further reinforce Dakar's role as a major logistics hub and gateway to West and North West Africa. The existing DP Word terminal will continue to operate during the development project but later will be redeveloped into a mixed use residential and commercial waterfront. They are also proposing the creations of a cruise terminal.
In the first phase of the project, which is expected to cost $837 million and will also be the single largest private sector investment in Senegal, will see the construction of a new channel able to handle the largest container vessels in the world. The channel will provide access to the new container terminal which will have over 2,700 feet of dock. They expect to later expand the channel to accommodate even longer container ships and increase the dock length by nearly half. The second phase is projected to cost an additional $290 million.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, predicted, "The new port will create jobs, attract new foreign direct investment to the country, and enable new trading opportunities that bring about economic diversification.”
Senegal recently join the World Logistics Passport, an initiative established by Dubai and DP World to encourage trading opportunities between developing markets, further build African trade.
