The Belgian construction company Jan de Nul announced that it will be working on the construction of a new port 50 kilometres off of Dakar, Senegal. The new port is expected to be completed in around 2.5 years.
The new deepwater port is primarily being constructed by DP World, with Jan De Nul participating in the construction. Jan De Nul is to dredge a 5 km access channel, which will require the removal of around ten million cubic meters of soil. Jan De Nul has stated that they will deploy their most powerful dredging vessel, the WILLEM VAN RUBROECK, since the area can have challenging ocean conditions and consists mainly of hard rock.
In addition to the dredging, the material obtained will be used to reclaim land measuring around 89 hectares from the sea. This reclaimed area is planned to house a terminal and a container storage site.
The new port is being constructed to redirect some of the traffic from DAKAR’s Port, which has reportedly reached its maximum capacity. The new deepwater port is planned to be the largest port in West Africa, being able to accommodate two of the world’s largest container ships simultaneously.
