Abidjan Port Expansion

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In January 1999, an Anglo-Dutch consortium, Lodeco, was provisionally awarded a 30-year BOT agreeement with the Côte d'Ivoire government for a new container facility at the Port of Abidjan. The project, which involved a new container terminal with capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year in the district of Locodjoro, northwest and across the lagoon from the existing port, was given final approval by the government in September of 2000. Lodeco was led by TCI Infrastructure Ltd, a subsidiary of Britain's TCI Corporation, and included shipping group P&O Nedlloyd and civil engineering company Christiani & Nielsen. The existing port at Abidjan had a capacity of 15 million tonnes per year. The expansion was to include the multiuser container terminal with 600 meters of quay with a berth depth of 14 meters, a 300-acre industrial free zone, and a telecommunications gateway. Infrastructure, including the dredging, was to be provided by the Côte d'Ivoire government. Construction was scheduled to begin in early 2001 and take three years. Total cost of the project was estimated at US$140 million. Funding came from a consortium led by the African Development Bank. None None