Africa Global Logistics, which operates Ivory Coast's main port, plans to invest over 60 million euros ($67 million) in inland logistics over the next five years to boost its position as a transport hub and gateway for landlocked West African nations.
The company plans to establish operational hubs across Ivory Coast and develop dry warehouses equipped with cooling facilities, Regional Director Asta-Rosa Cisse told Reuters.
As well as operating Abidjan's main port in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa and cashew producer, Africa Global Logistics SDSC.CI handles shipments to and from landlocked neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali.
The company, owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company, also handles other commodities including cotton, rubber, bananas, mangoes and palm oil.
"Abidjan suffers from centralisation, with everything converging on the port," Cisse said.
The company plans to decentralise operations by establishing hubs in Ferkessedougou in northern Ivory Coast, Bouake in the centre and San Pedro in the southwest, aiming to improve speed and efficiency, she said.
Import and export traffic at Abidjan's main port is expected to rise by 50% this year to about 1.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), from 1.2 million TEUs last year, said Cisse.
"Today, our traffic is on the rise, in line with the economy of the region. The region's dynamism is boosting both export and import traffic," she said.
The second container terminal at Abidjan's main port, completed in late 2022, has increased traffic by accommodating large vessels from Asia, Europe, and the Americas, which previously had to offload cargo in South Africa before transferring goods to smaller vessels bound for West Africa.
The expansion of the middle class, with its increased consumption of European goods, alongside a rise in infrastructure construction attracting numerous products, has contributed to the surge in traffic at Abidjan, Cisse added.
($1 = 0.8909 euros)
(Reuters)