International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a $40 million project to deepen the Congo River.
Under the agreement Belgium-based Dredging International will deepen the Congo River near the multipurpose terminal inland Port of Boma from around 23 feet to at least 40 feet.
Removing draught restrictions will enable direct calls by mainline vessels at the inland ports of Matadi and Boma on the Congo.
An ICTSI subsidiary in 2014 entered a joint venture with property management unit of Congolese conglomerate The Ledya Group to build, manage and operate a new 120,000 TEU capacity ¬cargo terminal at Matadi Port.
Its Matadi Gateway Terminal joint venture company joins it with The Ledya Group as well as state-founded National Transport & Ports Company (SCTP SA).
Both Matadi and Boma are gateways to the capital city of Kinshasa as well as its surrounding extensive hinterland.
Surrounding areas are home to 30 million people, making it among the largest market areas in Central Africa.
The dredging deal will deliver operational efficiencies and cost savings to the supply chain in the West of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the market as a whole from 2018 onwards.
Hans-Ole Madsen, Senior Vice President, ICTSI, Europe, Middle East and Africa region said: “We look forward to working with Dredging International and the DRC Government to realize this important project and the diverse benefits it will deliver to the transportation sector and the economy as a whole.
“It builds on the co-operative approach taken to the development of the Matadi Gateway Terminal and will represent a key component in the modernization of DRC marine infrastructure with benefits felt along the whole supply chain.”
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