Africa Global Logistics invests €60m in Ivory Coast logistics expansion

Boats are seen at a quay of the port of Abidjan, Ivory coast, December 03, 2021. Picture taken December 03, 2021. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo

The company will establish new operational hubs across the Ivory Coast and develop dry warehouses equipped with cooling facilities, regional director Asta-Rosa Cisse confirmed.

Alongside managing Abidjan’s main port — the primary export point for the world’s top cocoa and cashew producer — Africa Global Logistics handles shipments to and from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, and trades in a range of other commodities including cotton, rubber, bananas, mangoes and palm oil.

"Abidjan suffers from centralisation, with everything converging on the port," Cisse said.

The company plans to decentralise operations by establishing hubs in Ferkessedougou in northern Ivory Coast, Bouake in the centre and San Pedro in the southwest, aiming to improve speed and efficiency, she said.

Port traffic expected to surge by 50%

Import and export traffic at Abidjan's main port is expected to rise by 50% this year to about 1.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), from 1.2 million TEUs last year, said Cisse.

"Today, our traffic is on the rise, in line with the economy of the region. The region's dynamism is boosting both export and import traffic," she said.

The second container terminal at Abidjan's main port, completed in late 2022, has increased traffic by accommodating large vessels from Asia, Europe, and the Americas, which previously had to offload cargo in South Africa before transferring goods to smaller vessels bound for West Africa.

The expansion of the middle class, with its increased consumption of European goods, alongside a rise in infrastructure construction attracting numerous products, has contributed to the surge in traffic at Abidjan, Cisse added.