Senegal will break ground on a $1.2 billion deep sea Port Ndayane that promises to revolutionize maritime transport in Senegal and West Africa. On Dec. 18, 2024, it was announced that the Willem Van Rubroeck dredger is on its way to implement the first phase of the project, entailing the drilling of a 5 km shipping channel that will allow the world’s largest container ships to enter the new port. The first phase also includes the construction of an 840-meter quay, creating capacity to handle 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU’s) annually. The second phase will see an additional 410-meter quay. According to Construction Review 1,800 jobs will be created in constructing the port and 2.3 million jobs in the country. Furthermore, 22,000 jobs will be tied directly to the expanded trade from the port.
The port is being built and operated by DP World of the United Arab Emirates and the financing is being arranged with British International Investment (BII), the British government’s development finance agency.
