French investor Bollore Group has announced that it plans to invest around US$120 million in a container terminal in Sierra Leone, with the intention of boosting terminal capacity to 750,000 TEU by building a 270-metre quay and effectively doubling productivity at the terminal, according to IHS Maritime 360.
The Sierra Leone terminal is set to become a key location for transhipment between the Americas and Europe, as well as various ports along the West African Coast. The group has already invested around $37 million on rehabilitation work.
Bollore’s Africa logistics arm has also recently won a concession to operate a container terminal with shipping company CMA CGM, as part of a concession that will be in effect for 25 years.
West African ports are set to grow massively in the next few years, after more than $3 billion was invested by companies that include Bollore and APM Terminals.
APMT’s biggest investment to date has been poured into a terminal in Nigeria, where it intends to boost its portfolio of terminal operations.
