China loans Ivory Coast $875m for port construction

China Eximbank has loaned an estimated $875m to the Ivory Coast for the development of a second container terminal at Abidjan port, the second largest port in Africa.  

"The scope of work entails the enlargement of the Vridi canal, construction of a second container terminal and a roll-on/roll-off terminal as well," said Hien Yacouba Sie, director of Abidjan port, according to Nigerian newspaper, Business Day Online. 

The port serves as a gateway for the landlocked African nations above the Ivory Coast such as Mali and Burkina Faso. Key exports include coffee, cocoa, pineapples and timber. In 2013 total throughput at the port surpassed 21m tonnes. 

French group Bollore have agrred to a $377m investment, which aims to increase the flow of traffic to the port. 

Construction is expected to begin in 2015 and finish in 2021.