DRC’s Banana Port Achieves Construction Milestone

The development of DRC’s first deep sea port has achieved a new milestone, with operator DP World selecting Mota-Engil to lead the construction. Banana Port - located along the DRC’s narrow coastline of 22 miles on the Atlantic Ocean - is planned to be the single maritime gateway for containerized trade in the country. The port is located near the mouth of the Congo River, in Kongo Central province.

According to DP World, the selection of Mota-Engil, a Portuguese engineering conglomerate, was informed by the company’s extensive experience in port development and logistics support in Africa. Currently, Mota-Engil is part of the consortium operating the Lobito Corridor, which is a railway route connecting DRC’s copper belt to Angola’s Lobito port. The Lobito Corridor has been hailed as one of Africa’s most important economic infrastructure projects, connecting the rich mineral regions of DRC and Zambia to global markets through Angola.

DP World said Mota-Engil’s experience in African logistics aligns with its vision for Banana Port. “By partnering with Mota-Engil, we are ensuring that this world-class infrastructure is built to the highest standards, fostering economic growth. Banana Port is a transformative project that will reshape the trade and logistics landscape of the DRC,” said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of DP World. Besides Mota-Engil’s contract, the construction of the port will also include local enterprises, and will create about 85,000 jobs and $430 million annually in new economic output once in operation.

Banana Port will be developed in phases. The first involves building a 600-meter quay with 18 meters of depth, which will enable the port to handle large container vessels. The port will have capacity for 450,000 TEU per year and also feature 30 hectares of storage area. The second phase will extend the quay by over two kilometers. The development of the port is supported with financing from DP World in partnership with British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor. Last year, BII committed to investing up to $35 million towards the development of the first phase.