The official launching ceremony for work on Congo Terminal, the new name of the container terminal in the Port of Pointe-Noire, was held on April 30 in the presence of Denis Sassou N'Guesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, and Vincent Bolloré, President of the Bolloré group.
This ceremony is the starting point for the modernisation and expansion works at the container terminal in the port of Pointe-Noire.
The consortium comprising Bolloré Africa Logistics and its local partners have now been joined by APM Terminals. Bolloré signed a 27-year concession agreement with the Government of Congo in December 2008.
The aim of the Congo Terminal is to make Pointe-Noire the benchmark deep-water port for Central Africa, both as a major trans-shipment terminal and also as the main port for hinterland transits in the Congo basin, opening to the principal corridors of the sub-region, in particular serving the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and the north of Angola.
The first stage of the works will be to prolong the quay by 270 metres to a total length of 800 metres with a depth of water of 15 metres, capable of receiving container ships with a capacity of up to 7,000 TEU.
At the end of the concession, Congo Terminal will have 1,500 linear metres of quay (800 metres at depths to 15 metres and 700 metres at depths to 13 metres), 38 hectares of storage surface, 14 quayside gantries and 34 storage yard gantries. These resources should enable it to achieve a flow of one million TEU per year by 2020.
Congo Terminal will begin operation on July 1, 2009.
