Djibouti Opens New Port

Djibouti has formally inaugurated the Doraleh Multipurpose Port (DMP), a versatile port complex which is part of Djibouti’s four mega port projects, the country’s port authority said.

Namely, the new projects include four new ports “aimed at providing world-class logistics platform for shipping“, a liquefied natural gas facility, oil terminal, and two new airports.

“The new facilities will vastly improve the efficiency and ease of doing business in the Horn of Africa,” Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) added.

The complex, opened on Wednesday, May 24 features a container terminal with the yard capacity of 200,000 TEUs, a break bulk terminal of 6 million tons/year capacity and a bulk terminal of 2 million tons/year capacity along with a RoRo terminal with 40,000 vehicle park slots.  The port, the development of which cost USD 590 million, has the capacity to accommodate 100,000 DWT vessels.

“With this new world-class infrastructure, Djibouti confirms its position as a major trading hub for the continent. We are proud to show the world our capacity to deliver major infrastructure projects – some of the most technologically advanced on this continent,”  DPFZA Chairman Aboubaker Omar Hadi said.

The project was launched in 2015 and was financed jointly by DPFZA and China Merchant Holding (CMHC). The port was equipped by the Chinese firm ZPMC and ships have already started calling at the facility, the port authority said.