AfDB approves a loan to finance port development

The project involves the construction, development and operation of a new transshipment container handling terminal. It will be executed under a 35-year concession agreement and will have an annual handling capacity of 1.5 million TEU. A Togolese company, Lomé Container Terminal S.A,  will execute the project.

The Lome port in the Gulf of Guinea is one of the few deep water ports in Western and Central Africa.  It serves as a transhipment hub on the West African coast because of its ideal location. It also serves as a gateway to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as the northern parts of Nigeria. The port’s existing capacity is said to be expanded to meet growing Togolese needs and regional demand from Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, while Nigeria’s cross-border trade that is also projected to increase would also benefit from the facility. Mediterranean Shipping Company (“MSC”) will as per AfDB be the terminal’s anchor customer. MSC will enter into a terminal services agreement committing to channel most of its WCA cargo through the terminal.