The Africa Global Logistics (AGL) group announced on March 10 that its subsidiary Congo Terminal had signed a financing agreement of 150,880,000,000 CFA francs (230,000,000 euros) for the expansion of the container terminal at the Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire (PAPN).
The signing of the agreement was made possible thanks to a banking round led by Crédit du Congo and Attijariwafa Bank as arrangers, and composed exclusively of participating Congolese banks, namely Crédit du Congo, EcoBank, Banque commerciale internationale, Banque sino-congolaise pour l’Afrique and BGFIBank Congo as well as other expressions of interest from international banks and institutions.
This funding will enable the construction of a new 750-meter-long quay in 2027, with a surface area of 28 hectares and a depth of 17 meters, for an estimated three-year construction period, representing a total cost of €361 million. This strategic investment aims to strengthen the operational capacity of Congo’s only maritime outlet and will support the economic development of the country and the subregion.
“The financing of a private sector project of this scale is a first. Its completion demonstrates the commitment of local banks to supporting the country’s economic growth, thus benefiting our clients, the local community and all the economic stakeholders involved ,” said Hicham Fadili, Managing Director of Crédit du Congo.
For Anthony Samzun, CEO of Congo Terminal, this achievement marks a major step for its structure and for the development of the country’s infrastructure. “Thanks to this cooperation with all partners, the terminal will be able to accommodate the largest container ships, thus contributing to the fluidity of trade and the competitiveness of the Congolese economy on the international scene ,” he said.
The expansion of the PAPN demonstrates the Congolese government’s commitment to meeting growing demand from the local and regional markets and renews its confidence in Congo Terminal, given the project’s impact on the country’s economic growth, the development of local activities and job creation.
“The Môle Est project is fully in line with the vision of the highest authorities of the State who aspire to make the port of Pointe-Noire the benchmark transshipment hub for the entire sub-region. It illustrates, at the same time, a fruitful public-private partnership and testifies to the commitment of all stakeholders to promote the country’s economic growth ,” stressed Séraphin Bhalat, Director General of PAPN.
Furthermore, from February 24 to 28, Congo Terminal organized the first regional Kaizen bringing together the terminal teams as well as business experts and Operational Excellence teams from other Group entities: Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Nigeria. The goal is to improve the productivity of port tractors and reduce waiting times for gantries and cranes. This project is part of Congo Terminal’s multiple actions aimed at improving the productivity of ships and gantries serving the lines.
For a week, three teams worked together to solve three main problems: reducing the travel time of port tractors, reducing the waiting time for port tractors to load, and optimizing team changeover times.
As a subsidiary of AGL, Congo Terminal is the exclusive operator of container and roll-on/roll-off vessel handling services calling at the port of Pointe Noire, in the Republic of Congo. The company is engaged in a public-private partnership that enables it to meet the requirements of its shipowner, importer, and exporter clients.
