The DP World has signed a 25 year concession with the Port of Dakar in 2008 and part of the agreement was for DP World to undertake further expansion when the container volumes reach 400,000. It happened that by 2012, the container volumes in Dakar reached 700,000 and the expansion to which DP World had committed themselves in the original concession agreement became due. Negotiations for the expansion only started in 2018 and was completed recently, culminating in the decision to invest in Ndayane, due to the congestion within Dakar and its environs.
The Port of Banjul could leverage on the River Gambia potential to complement the service to Southern Senegal, Southwest regions of Mali, Guine Bissau and Guinea Conakry. Development of the port infrastructure in Banjul could enhance The Gambia’s attentiveness for the feeder service to these hinterland markets, which will be more cost-effective in terms of cost per ton mile for high volume cargoes, given the strategic spatial advantage of th country in terms of connectivity. This will be complemented by corresponding investment in roads and bridges across the River, airport improvement, development of river transportation and construction of special economic zones as part of the corridor management project. In fact, there are huge prospects for complementarity upon completion of the current transport infrastructure projects in the Gambia.
