USTDA supports study for Djibouti container port

USTDA supports study for Djibouti container port    The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a $348,378 grant to support a study by the Dubai International Djibouti FZE, a subsidiary of Dubai Ports International, to develop the Port of Doraleh Container Port project.
   The study results will determine the appropriate design and size of the new container terminal that Dubai International plans to build at the Port of Doraleh, located about eight miles from the current Port of Djibouti.
   The new container terminal is expected to be expanded to an annual throughput of about 1.2 million TEUs a year with 1,200 meters of quay and modern container handling equipment and terminal systems.
   Han-Padron Associates, a New York-based transportation consulting firm, was selected by Dubai International to conduct the study, USTDA said.
   The agency added that Djibouti is the only point of entry for commercial traffic and donor aid to Ethiopia and serves as the exporting point for several countries in the region.
   The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an organization designed in part to facilitate regional partnership in infrastructure development, has designated the Port of Doraleh as a priority project for regional trade capacity building.