APM Terminals has just announced that the contracts were signed this month with the China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) for the construction of Abidjan’s second container terminal, known as Côte d’Ivoire Terminal (CIT).
CIT is scheduled to be operational at the end of 2021 and the consortium, a joint venture between Bolloré and APM Terminals, will invest EUR400 million in the construction the terminal and equipment.
According to APM Terminals, Côte d’Ivoire Terminal was formed in 2013. Phase one of the project was handled by the Port Autonome d’Abidjan (PAA) and consisted of the deepening and widening of the Vridi Canal access channel.
“More than 45 hectares of land was also reclaimed for the creation of the new Côte d’Ivoire Terminal (CIT) and an adjacent Roll-on Roll-off facility. An $80 million expansion at the existing Abidjan Terminal was already completed in 2015, increasing its annual container capacity from 800,000 TEU to 1.5m TEU,” the company stated in their official release.
Once completed, the terminals 1,100m quay will be able to accommodate vessels up to -18 metres, providing scope for accepting larger vessels in the future, said APM.
The existing Abdijan Terminal can currently accommodate vessels up to -11.5m draft.