Congo container terminal overhaul begins

Congo container terminal overhaul begins    Work has begun on an overhaul of the container terminal at the Port of Pointe-Noire in the Congo, according to the Bollor' Group, which is redeveloping the terminal.
   A.P. Moller – Maersk affiliate APM Terminals said it would participate in Bollore Africa Logistics' project at Port of Pointe-Noire.
   In December 2008 the French-based Bollor' Group signed a 570 million euro ($798 million) 27-year concession agreement with the Congolese government that provides for the modernization of the largest deepwater port in the Gulf of Guinea.
   Plans include expanding the current 42-acre facility to 94 acres, and lengthening the Congo Terminal's berth by 270 meters to 800 meters with a draft deep enough to accommodate 7,000-TEU vessels. The container yard will be more than doubled within eight years, from it's current capacity of 200,000 to 300,000 TEUs. By 2020, the terminal is projected to have capacity for 1 million TEUs.
   Operations will begin on July 1 even as redevelopment work proceeds.
   Bollor' said it expects the deep-sea terminal to serve as an outlet for central African cargo from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and the north of Angola.
   APM Terminals and Bollor' Africa Logistics, the largest transportation and logistics network in Africa, have an established association that includes facilities at the West African ports of Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Douala, Cameroon and Tema, Ghana.