Antwerp and Dakar port authorities will cooperate in the next few years, for Antwerp to reinforce its position on the coast of West Africa, and for the Port of Dakar to position itself as the main regional hub for freight.
The two partied signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week. Mr. Aboubacar Sedikh Beye signed for the Port Autonome de Dakar, while Kristof Waterschoot, CEO of two subsidiaries of Antwerp Port Authority (PAI and APEC), represented the Antwerp side.
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The MoU contains a number of commitments in the area of marketing, developing trade relations, organising joint commercial events and exchanging information on subjects like customs & excise, security and sustainability. The agreement has been signed for a period of five years.
Dakar is one of the largest ports on the coast of West Africa. This port city is located at the crossroads of sailing routes between Europe on the one hand and North and South America and southern Africa on the other. Dakar is also one of the few West African ports that are able to handle ships of all dimensions at any time.
Dakar now plans to build a new port 50 km away from the present facility which with a keel depth of 18 metres will be able to handle the latest generation of giant container carriers without difficulty. The Port Dakar will also wants to create an economic and logistics zone of 600 hectares.
Kristof Waterschoot, CEO of two subsidiaries of Antwerp Port Authority, stated:
We will make use of our experience and expertise to help Dakar realise its ambitions. 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. We will immediately step in to fill this gap, by sharing our know-how and expertise.
