Chinese and French companies are bidding to help Gambia build up its Atlantic port Banjul to be what industry sources say could be a rival to neighbouring Senegal’s Dakar. It would be one of the first major structural changes in Gambia following the end of President Yahya Jammeh’s more than 20-year rule in January.
State-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) says one of its subsidiaries has made a bid for a €140-million ($159.91-million) contract Gambia has launched to redevelop the port. France’s Bollore Group has also submitted an offer to develop the port for hundreds of millions of dollars, sources told Reuters, and was part of a recent delegation of French investors to the country.
The port was run by a state agency during Jammeh’s rule. It is considered to have strategic potential thanks to its easy access to Atlantic shipping lanes. Abdoulie Tambedou, MD of the GambiaPorts Authority said there had already been several offers and hopes that financing will be agreed in the next six months. Tambedou confirmed Bollore’s offer, without giving the price, and said this included both infra-structure costs and the rental concession.
Upgrading the port will take 30-36 months to complete, Tambedou said. Gambia is poor. It ranks 173 out of 189 countries on the UN Human Development Index, below Haiti. Gambia is badly in need of key infrastructure development but is seen as a key transit country for reaching remote areas of Guinea, Mali and Senegal that are easier to access from Banjul than from the countries’ own ports and capitals. Space constraints at the port, however, mean that arriving cargo ships often have to wait at anchorage before entering.
