New port at Manakara?

The project has been on the African Development Bank’s agenda for several years, but only now is progress being made.

The country has been affected by political instability over the past decade, while an outbreak of plague hit the Port of Toamasina at the end of last year. The bank has agreed to cover the cost of the study.

It is anticipated that the port would be developed as a public private partnership, either with equity shared between a foreign operator and the government,, or a management concession offered with the port infrastructure remaining state-owned. The feasibility study will investigate the two options and potential funding mechanisms.

An AfDB statement read: “The purpose of this mission is to provide the public entity with all the necessary elements for design and sizing of the project, as well as the assessment of the feasibility of the investment defined as follows: rehabilitation of the infrastructures of the port of Manakara with a view to estimated traffic.”