New Mali hub for DP World
DP World has signed 20-year concession with an automatic 20-year extension with the Republic of Mali to build and operate a 1000-hectare logistics hub with inland container depots and container freight stations to facilitate import and export of goods.
Suhail Al Banna, chief executive officer and managing director, DP World Middle East and Africa, and Moulaye Ahmed Boubacar, minister of equipment and transport, the Republic of Mali.
The logistics hub will be located outside Mali’s capital, Bamako, close to the Dakar – Bamako rail line. It is to handle up to 4 million tons of bulk and general cargo. DP will also supply three locomotive trains to boost cargo and passenger traffic along the Bamako-Dakar rail system.
The first phase of the project is worth $50 million. Construction is expected to next year and is to take around 18 months to complete.
The hub is to significantly reduce processing times, supporting growth of the Malian economy by reducing obstacles to trade and economic development. DP World is also to implement its online paperless facilitation platform to accelerate the movement of goods as part of the agreement.
“The Mali Logistics Hub will dramatically improve the cost and time of trade for Mali,” said Republic of Mali minister of equipment and transport Moulaye Ahmed Boubacar. “The project also gives the Republic of Mali the opportunity to be connected to global trade lanes, and to speed up access and transport in and out of the country.”