Bolloré Ports begins construction of container terminal extension at Port of Freetown

Oct 18, 2016: The extension works of the container terminal of the Port of Freetown was officially launched on October 14 in the presence of Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and the Minister of Transport Leonard BalogunKoroma, Bolloré Ports, first operator of infrastructure in Africa and a major player in port handling in France. This major project for Sierra Leone will contribute to enhance potential of the natural bay of its capital Freetown, first port of the country. It includes the construction of a quay extension of 270 m to a depth of 13 m, in addition to the existing 707 m, creating a median of 3.5 hectares, and the establishment of a power plant dedicated to the terminal. Two gantry cranes will be set up from the start to significantly improve productivity of the Port of Freetown. The new & ultramodern dock will accommodate larger vessels up to 6,000 TEU, taking the total capacity of the container terminal to 750,000 TEUs (against 90,000 to date). Delivery of the work is scheduled for September 2018. Hundreds of local jobs will be created, coupled with a skills transfer program for Sierra Leonean. Bolloré Ports is a division of Bolloré Transport & Logistics, one of the top 10 global companies in its sector. It has been operating the container terminal of the Port of Freetown through its subsidiary Freetown Terminal since March 2011, following an international tender launched by the authorities to the operation of the said Port. Significant investments have been made the last five years for the development of the potential of the natural bay of Freetown. Thus, the rehabilitation of existing yards and purchase modern equipment led to widely triple the productivity to handle a traffic increase of over 30%. This project, a total of $ 120 million, will be entirely financed by Bolloré Ports. For Eric Melet, Managing Director Development of Bolloré Transport &Logistics : "The Port of Freetown is one of the gateways of international trade for West Africa and the countries of the hinterland. The efforts of our group demonstrate our commitment to continue to invest in Sierra Leone ".