A Chinese firm will build a new deep sea trans-shipment port worth $800m on the tiny African island nation of São Tomé e PrÃncipe, off the west African coast, a report says.
The government of the two-island state, which has a population of just over 190,000 and is located 225km off the coasts of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, is reported to have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with state-owned China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) for the port’s design and construction.
The port on the former Portuguese colony will be developed in phases, with the first phase set to be completed by 2018, reports Ghana Business & Finance.
Developed to serve the logistics needs of the Gulf of Guinea, the port will be a public-private partnership, and CHEC plans to invest at least $120m in the project.
CHEC will carry out engineering, design and construction of the project for all phases.
The port will begin operating in 2019, and the total investment for all phases is estimated to be $800m.
Photograph: Beach scene at São TomeÌ e PrÃncipe (Wikimedia Commons)
