West, Central African Ports Target $27.8bn Infrastructure Expansion

West and Central African countries are intensifying investments in deep seaport projects and maritime infrastructure, with proposed and committed investments estimated at $27.8 billion across the sub-region.

The development was highlighted during the mid-year session of the Board of Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) held in Lagos.

Among the major projects is the proposed $20 billion Simandou-Morebaya Deep Seaport project in Guinea-Conakry, which industry stakeholders described as a strategic investment aimed at improving the region’s competitiveness in global maritime trade.

Other projects include the $2 billion San Pedro Port project in Côte d’Ivoire, the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos, the $1.5 billion Tema Port project in Ghana, and the $1.2 billion Ndayane Port project in Dakar, Senegal.

Additional investments include the ongoing $1 billion Apapa and Tin Can Island port projects in Nigeria, alongside a proposed $600 million investment by APM Terminals.

Speaking at the meeting, President of PMAWCA and Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, said ports within the sub-region must scale up investments in infrastructure, technology and deep-sea port development to remain competitive in global shipping.

According to him, many ports in West and Central Africa currently lack the capacity to accommodate modern shipping demands due to limited infrastructure.

Dantsoho noted that rehabilitation efforts at older ports such as Apapa and Tin Can in Nigeria, Tema in Ghana, Cotonou in Benin Republic and Dakar in Senegal would provide medium-term solutions, while large-scale deep-sea port projects remain critical for long-term competitiveness.

He cited the Guinea-Conakry deep seaport initiative as an example of the level of investment required to position African ports on the global stage, noting that some international ports are already developing facilities capable of handling vessels carrying up to 24,000 containers.

The PMAWCA president also stressed the need for ports across the region to embrace automation, artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced data systems to improve operational efficiency and boost revenue generation.

He warned that delays in infrastructure modernisation could weaken Africa’s position in global trade and shipping.

Also speaking, President of Finance, Economy and Studies at the Port of Douala, Cameroon, Babagnack Missi, disclosed that PMAWCA had undertaken studies on financial contributions, tariff structures and administrative reforms within the association.

Missi explained that the committee reviewed member ports’ financial contributions and examined frameworks aimed at improving the association’s financial sustainability.

He added that the committee recommended greater use of statistical data in determining future contributions and called for a transition from cash-based budgeting to a performance-driven management system.

President of the Statistics Network at the Dakar Port Authority, Senegal, Cira Fall, said the association had made significant progress in harmonising port statistics across member countries.

Fall revealed that more than 220 pages of PMAWCA statistical templates and concepts had undergone technical review to improve data consistency and comparability among ports in the region.