Ivory Coast concession for MSC

News-in-print 1 Jun 2017 by WCN Editorial

A consortium led by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has signed a 35-year concession to expand and operate the container terminal at the Port of San Pedro in Côte d’Ivoire. San Pedro is the second most important port in the country, but is currently much smaller than Abidjan. However, it handles most of the exports for the world’s biggest producer of cocoa. Total investment is put at CFA300B (US$500M), of which MSC will invest CFA130B.

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MSC’s partners on the concession are the Bilal Group and the Port of San Pedro. The terminal will have the capacity to handle vessels up to 14,000 TEU, making it the latest port in West Africa to be greatly expanded. As with other upgrades in the region, San Pedro is to be developed to handle transhipment trade. MSC Ivory Coast has operated in the country for 15 years.

The port was closed for two days in May during an army mutiny. Despite recent unrest, Côte d’Ivoire is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with GDP increasing by an average of 8% a year over the past five years.

Diego Aponte president and CEO of MSC, said: “This agreement will further strengthen the strong links between MSC and the government of Côte d’Ivoire. It also confirms our long-term engagement to contribute to national efforts in supporting the country’s growing position on the international scene.

“Our structural investment and operations will allow San Pedro to become a state-of-the-art terminal, increase trade relationships with new and traditional business partners, as well as enhancing its competitiveness at both the national and global levels. We are also extremely proud to generate inclusive growth through job creation and vocational training, as the terminal is expected to employ hundreds of people directly and a larger number of people indirectly.” The agreement was signed just weeks after MSC celebrated its 15th anniversary in Côte d’Ivoire.

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This complete item is approximately 300 words in length, and appeared in the June 2017 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 7. To access this issue download the PDF here.