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Country Information > West Africa > Côte d'Ivoire San
Pedro
Port Information
San-Pédro is a port town lying in southwestern Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It is situated about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Sassandra, on the Gulf of Guinea. Until the mid-1960s, San-Pédro was a tiny fishing village of fewer than 100 inhabitants, but, following the start of port construction there in 1968, it rapidly grew into a major town. Upon completion of the port in 1970, San-Pédro became the nation's second largest port (after the capital, Abidjan). San Pedro is predominantly an export port for timber and other agricultural projects such as cocoa, rubber, coffee, cotton and palm products. Port traffic has diversified since the port was constructed in 1968. Log exports accounted for 94% of the 1 million tonnes handled in 1973 but with the 1995 ban on exports of raw logs, (all timber felled in Côte d'Ivoire must be processed locally) this figure dropped to 17% of the 1.1million tonnes handled in that year. Today the total port traffic is composed of 86% export cargoes; timber logs, sawn timber (mahogany, iroko, sipo, obeche, and makore), coffee and cocoa beans, palm oil, rubber and 14 % import cargoes; wheat, cement cargo (clinker, gypsum) and rice. Nowadays San Pedro actually ships more cocoa than Abidjan and close to half of the country's cocoa production is exported through the port. Between 1998 and 1999, overall traffic increased by 13% to reach 1.2 million tonnes. Heavy investment in the area surrounding the port including new cocoa sheds more than 50,000m2 of un-bonded warehouses and an increase in storage capacity has attracted further trade. The port covers a large area of 2,000 hectares with 1,650 hectare available, ideal for potential investment. With the rapid expansion of palm oil and rubber plantations in the area and the announced commissioning of a railway between San Pedro and Man, a city located in the middle of important mineral deposits & the cocoa belt, extension of the harbour is high on the agenda. A large expansion project has been planned over the next few years. A tender has been distributed for the construction of a new berth. Several companies are bidding including several shipping lines. They plan to build a 1,000m long quay, which will be financed by the French Agency for Development (AfD). The quay will be located near the 'Club Nautique', on the cemetery side near the marine base. The quay will allow 4 x 190m type ships to birth and provide 35-40m of roro-ramp space. This means 10 vessels will be able to dock simultaneously. OT Africa Line's Roro south service calls at San Pedro every 12 days. This service utilises six 1,220 TEU multi-purpose ro-ro vessels. Able to carry containerised cargo in addition to rolling stock and project cargo, the service offers the fastest transit times in the trade to / from Europe and West Africa. |
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