Port authority of Abidjan

The Port authority of Abidjan ( PAA ) is a public corporation of the State of the Ivory Coast, which jointly exerts public service missions administrative and public service missions related to commercial industrial and.

It is managed like a public corporation related to commercial industrial and (EPIC) and is charged to exploit, manage and promote the harbor installations of Abidjan to Treichville.

The Port authority of Abidjan (the PAA) located on the coasts of Treichville (southern Abidjan) in Ivory Coast, is the most powerful port of West Africa and 2nd of all Africa after that of Durban, and in front of the Port of Lagos and the Port authority of Dakar. A transhipment port and has Container S. Thanks to the channel of Vridi depth a 15 meters, the boats with large draft can accost in a deep water port. the Managing director of the PAA is Marcel Gossio. The port declared sure and in conformity with the code ISPS has modern equipment. It shelters different activities and services, of the Usine S, the sites of Raffinage related to companies of the field…

Its traffic contributes to 90% of the customs receipts of the country and to 60% of the public revenue. 65% of the production facilities of the country exert on the port, representing a manpower of 50.000 people on the site. 70% of GDP of the Ivory Coast pass by the Ici port forward 70% of the foreign trade of the countries of the hinterland (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad, Guinea Conakry…) For the area it is a genuine tool of co-operation and integration.

One finds there large Groupe S world. The companies leaders are SDV-SAGA (which employs more than 4000 people), SETV Development company of the Terminal of Vridi, Sitarail, SIMAT

History

Context

As of the 15th century, the littoral of the Ivory Coast was a center of important commercial exchanges. During very a long time, all the sea traffic of the Ivory Coast was carried out by means of opens roadstead located at the outlets at sea, of the lagoons:

Large-Bassam Assinie
Large-Lahou
Makey
Tagba Lagoon with the river Go
Sassandra
San-Pedro

In 1897 is considered the construction of wharfs. The first Wharf is built with Large-Bassam in 1897, then a second longer and broader wharf, because of the increase in the traffic, is brought into service in 1923. Then a third a wharf is built with Port-Bouët in 1931. Lastly, in 1951 is brought into service a Wharf at Sassandra.

Birth of the port

The creation of a true deep water port having become essential, because of the rapid growth of the volume of the exchanges and the need for handling indivisible unit stresses increasingly heavy, as of 1892 are undertaken the studies necessary to the determination of a precise site likely to accommodate the future infrastructures. Thus Large-Lahou, Large-Bassam, Sassandra and Bingerville were studied.

In 1898, a French mission is sent in Ivory Coast (with the Captain Houdaille, the Capitaine Thomas, the Crosson-Duplessis captain…) for the future creation of a railroad and a port. The existence of the Canyon is taken into account (formerly called hole bottomless ). This mission highlights in particular the fact that the shortest way between Bamako and the Atlantic Ocean passes by Abidjan and not by Dakar (as it was imagined it up to that point) It raises also various other technical factors, geographical and economic favorable and formally proposes Abidjan to accommodate the port and to thus constitute the terminus of the railroad which will be baptized “Abidjan-Niger” (RAN).

First of all, the choice is made on the site of Port-Bouët but as of the beginning of construction (1906 - 1907) one realizes that the works of protection of the outlet at sea and the salaries additional are absorbed by vast collapses, towards the canyon. In 1935 one thus decides to build the Canal of Vridi (project establishes by the engineer Roger Pelnard and Considere after model experiments reduced, at the laboratories of DELF in Holland - the project is supported by Wattier). Construction is entrusted to the Building firm of the Wearing of Abidjan (CPA) as of 1938. This work finishes in 1950 finally putting in communication the Lagune Ébrié with the sea thanks to a channel of 2700 m lonf on 370 m broad with a 13,50 m depth (the July 23rd 1950).

The February 5th 1951 the Wearing of Abidjan is officially inaugurated by the President of the African Western Territorial Parliament of the Ivory Coast the Victor Capri Djédjé and the Ministre of the France of Outre-Mer François Mitterrand in the presence of the honourable doctor and chief of the village of Gokro Felix Houphouët-Boigny.

Opening on the world

The volume of goods which circulate by the PAA and the Port of San Pedro is of superior to 20 million tons. The PAA is preceded only by that of Durban on the continent.

With the resolution of the crisis, the Port wants to fall under the dynamics of reconciliation and Economic revival. The PAA is also development tools of the Industrie of transformation, real issue of the economy of the Ivory Coast. The PAA is the first producer of Thon out of preserve of Africa, the port shelters in its center of the transformer companies. The group OMKA manages two of them: Scodi and Pêche&Froid .

Future installations

This essential dynamics for the economy of the Pays makes it possible to engage of future work:

the widening of the master key of entry of the channel of Vridi will allow the entry of 300 meters length ships, 24:00 /24 and in any condition of tide.
Constructions of several important infrastructures:

Works of crossing
logistic
New warehouses and final Platforms

Creation of industrial and commercial free zone

Projects of the companies

SDV-SAGA : It ensures the transit maritime and air, the railway and road grouping, handling, storage etc SDV-SAGA handling managed 5.830.000 tons of goods in 2006
SETV : Container terminal of the PAA, Bolloré with envisaged to invest there 15 million euros for the year 2007 - 2008. Equip with 5 quays equipped with 3 gantries with quay and 1 mobile gantry, the terminal of Vridi manages a traffic of 440.000 teus in 2006
Sitarail : It exploits the railway line which connects the Ivory Coast to the Burkina Faso. A vector of essential opening-up for the neighbors of under area: 1 million tons of goods thus convoyed in 2006.

Objectives

The Objective laid down by the harbor authorities at the horizon 2010 is that the PAA will have to be able to treat 25 million tons of goods and to impose itself like the African Rotterdam.

References

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