The port authority opened bidding for the construction and management of a second container terminal this week and will accept offers until July 14.
"We want to make Abidjan the principal hub not only between the north and south, but also between the countries of the south who are experiencing rapid economic development that will continue to grow in coming years," director Hein Sie said.
The planned second terminal will have a transit capacity of 1.5 million 20-foot containers per year, adding to the port's current capacity of 800,000 containers. Construction will begin next year, with completion expected in 2016, Sie said.
The port, located in the West African nation's commercial capital, is already one of the region's principal shipping hubs. The bulk of top grower Ivory Coast's cocoa exports passes through Abidjan, as do around 60 percent of goods entering and exiting land-locked Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Abidjan lost ground to regional competitors over the past decade, however, due to an on again off again conflict that discouraged outside investments and froze development.
"We want to increase the port of Abidjan's competitiveness in view of competition from other ports, for example in Togo, Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroon," Sie said.
A political gridlock ended last year after a brief civil war, and Ivory Coast's economy is rebounding. After a contraction of 4.7 percent in 2011, the IMF is projecting GDP growth of 8 percent this year due largely to a series of major public works projects. (Reuters)
