Works on widening and deepening the Vridi Canal in Ivory Coast, implemented by China Communications Construction Company’s (CCCC) subsidiary China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), are officially completed – eight months ahead of schedule.
The inauguration ceremony of the expanded waterway took place on February 21, in the presence of Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the Prime Minister of the Ivory Coast, officials from China Harbor Engineering Company, Tang Weibin, the Chinese Ambassador in the Ivory Coast and several other members of the Ivory Coast Government.
Built in 1950, the port’s poor infrastructure has struggled to cope with growth in cargo traffic. The project was funded through a loan acquired by the Ivory Coast Government from Eximbank of China.
As part of CHEC’s Abidjan Port Expansion Project in Ivory Coast, the main goal of these works is to help making the port the largest one of its kind in Western Africa, said CHEC in its announcement.
The port is one of the busiest in Sub Saharan Africa, serving landlocked countries like Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.