French industrial conglomerate Bollore aims to invest €400-million ($496.28-million) from next year to build a second container terminal at Côte d'Ivoire's main port of Abidjan, the deputy CEO of its transport and logistics division told Reuters.
Philippe Labonne, deputy CEO of Bollore Transport and Logistics, spoke on the sidelines of an African CEO conference in Côte d'Ivoire's commercial capital late on Monday.
The main port of Abidjan is used to ship cocoa beans from the world’s top cocoa producer, and is also a vital supply and export route for landlocked countries to the north. Côte d'Ivoire authorities want the port to become a regional hub.
"We start in June or July 2019," he told Reuters. "It's a question of building a platform and setting up the port equipment."
He said the project would be financed by partner Maersk, and the new terminal would be operational from June 2020.
Port authorities were, with Chinese help, already widening the canal leading to the port to reach a 16 metre depth that would enable larger ships to dock, he said.
They aimed to boost terminal capacity by around 15 percent from its current roughly 1.2-million TEU (20-foot container units).