The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) today signed an agreement with the Government of Ivory Coast in Abidjan to provide a Japanese ODA loan of up to $97.6 million for the Abidjan Port Cereal Berth Construction Project.
JICA said in its announcement that, under this project, the government will construct a new cereal berth at Abidjan Port, which functions as the gateway to West Africa, with the objectives of meeting the growing demand for rice and other cereals in Ivory Coast and landlocked countries in the Sahel region, such as Burkina Faso and Mali, and improving logistics in the region.
The loan funds will be allocated to civil works, such as extending of the quay, dredging and constructing related facilities, to procuring equipment and to consulting services (such as bidding assistance and construction supervision).
“By constructing a new cereal berth, the project is expected to nearly double the average loading capacity of cereal cargo, and to reduce the berth occupancy to approximately 60 percent,” JICA said.
Since the 1980s, there has been no new investment in Port Abidjan due to economic and governmental turmoil, and the infrastructure has not kept pace with the increasing demand for cargo in conjunction with the rising population and economic growth in Ivory Coast and the surrounding Sahel countries.
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