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Authorities of Antwerp and Dakar ports have signed an MoU to increase their collaboration. Under the cooperative relationship, the Port of Dakar seeks to be the hub for freight in West Africa. On it part, the Port of Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe, wants to reinforce its historic position as leader on the coast of West Africa.

With an annual freight volume of 17 million tonnes, the Port of Dakar is one of the largest ports on the coast of West Africa and one of the few ports in the sub-region that are able to handle ships of all dimensions at any time. The port city occupies a uniquely strong position on the world map, located at the crossroads of sailing routes between Europe on the one hand and North and South America and southern Africa on the other.

The Dakar port plans to build a new port 50 kilometre away from the present facility, which with a keel depth of 18 metres, will be able to easily handle the latest generation of giant container carriers. Dakar also plans an economic and logistics zone of 600 hectares.

“We will make use of our experience and expertise to help Dakar realise its ambitions,” said Kristof Waterschoot, CEO of two subsidiaries of Antwerp Port Authority (PAI and APEC).

A recent report by the World Bank underlines the economic potential of the continent but also points up a number of challenges such as the lack of sufficiently trained personnel. The five-year MoU contains a number of commitments in the area of marketing, developing trade relations, organising joint commercial events and exchanging information on subjects such as customs & excise, security and sustainability.