Decades of investment in regional logistics infrastructure is reaping dividends for the West African region, a major global hub for the freight industry.
Confirmation of this came in April 2025, when Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced that it had selected West African ports as destinations for Africa’s first service by a mega-large container vessel with a 24 000 TEU capacity.
MSC Diletta and MSC Türkiye will connect key regions from China and South Korea through Southeast Asia to Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon on the Africa Express service, according to an announcement by MSC.
MSC Diletta has called on Lomé, Togo and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, while the 400-metre long MSC Türkiye has “played a crucial role in positioning the ports of Tema in Ghana and Kribi in Cameroon as a major transshipment and strategic trade hub along the West African coast”, said MSC.
“This vessel represents a new scale for maritime operations in sub-Saharan Africa,” added the shipping company.
Currently, the West African ports are the only African harbours capable of handling the mega-large container vessels.
This capacity will be increased by the addition of a major maritime infrastructure project: the Port of Ndayane, in Senegal.
The US$1.2 billion investment is being spearheaded by DP World and construction on the project started in December 2024.
According to DP World, phase 1 of the project includes an 840m quay and a 5km channel capable of accommodating the world’s largest container ships. The construction in this phase will create a capacity to handle 1.2 million TEUs annually.
Phase 2 will add a further 410m quay, “positioning Ndayane as a leading logistics hub in West Africa,” according to DP World.
DP World increased the capacity of the Port of Dakar from 300 000 TEUs in 2008 to 800 000 TEUs in 2023 – with no room for expansion, the company said. It will support Senegalese economic development through the added capacity.
- Read the rest of this article in our Freight Features edition on “West Africa”, available on Friday, 12 June.
