Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Container Freight and Logistics Terminal Gets Go Ahead

African Transport Infrastructure Takes Another Step Forward
Shipping News Feature
RWANDA – The country has been developing its transport infrastructure steadily since the horrific civil war and genocide in 1994 and now global marine terminal operator DP World has been granted a 25 year concession to develop and operate a new logistics centre in the capital Kigali. The government of Rwanda aims to enhance the country’s logistics industry to support the export of products for regional and international markets, goods principally emanating from the agricultural sector.

The DP World Kigali Logistics project is a Greenfield concession agreement and the first phase will be built on 90,000m² with a 12,000m² container yard and a 19,600m² warehousing facility. Estimated annual capacity is 50,000 TEUs and 640,000 tonnes of warehousing space. Total project cost is estimated at $35 million, and further development will be phased in line with demand growth.

DP World says that the new logistics centre can significantly contribute to the development strategy which the Rwandan government is pursuing and DP World Chairman HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem commented:

“DP World is delighted to have been granted this concession in Kigali, Rwanda. We are excited by this opportunity to use our expertise to build best-in-class infrastructure to ensure the continued development and growth for Kigali and the wider economy.”

The new partnership is further strengthened by Rwanda’s economic transformation in recent years, consistently delivering over 7% GDP growth and today it is also ranked as the most competitive country in East Africa by the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report. The group’s CEO, Mohammed Sharaf, said:

“We continue to be optimistic about the outlook for Africa and are proud to expand our footprint in the region. We aim to further develop the logistics sector through DP World Kigali Logistics to help meet the country’s 2020 vision of creating a strong domestic logistics services operator in the region.”

Rwanda is one of the smallest of African mainland states.