The investment is intended to reinforce equipment to improve the efficiency of the container terminal at the port of Cotonou, which is forecasting higher traffic volumes.

IFC is preparing a €20 million loan for Bénin Terminal, AGL subsidiary and operator of the container terminal at the Port of Cotonou. Disbursement of funds is expected to be approved on June 4, 2024.

This facility was requested as part of the terminal operator's investment plan, which calls for an injection of 165.5 million euros to enhance the capacity of its infrastructure and equipment. This commitment was made following the renewal of its concession contract, renewed in July 2022 for a further 27 years.

The loan will cover the purchase of new equipment (ship-to-shore cranes, electric rubber gantry cranes, tractors, tugs), the relocation of the power plant and civil engineering works. Another part of the envelope will be used "to refinance the shareholder loan used by the company to pay the concession agreement entry ticket to the Government of Benin".

Investment in the Port of Cotonou's container terminal will complement other projects underway as part of the platform's modernization program, budgeted at over 400 billion USD.

The plan includes dredging the port, building a new 20-hectare bulk terminal, a 13-hectare buffer parking lot for wide-body carriers, a 40-hectare logistics zone with several warehouses, external logistics platforms, a nautical service area for the navy, etc.

Ultimately, the works should increase the Port of Cotonou's annual capacity to over 20 million tonnes.

Agence Ecofin