DP World snags a 10-year extension at Luanda and puts another USD 90 mn into the terminal

DP World has extended its Luanda concession by a decade and is putting another USD 90 mn into the terminal: The extension keeps DP World at the Port of Luanda's multipurpose terminal until 2051, and the expansion will lift the terminal's design capacity to 1.2 mn TEUs, according to a press release. The money will be spent over the next two years.

Volumes have nearly doubled since DP World took over: The company has invested more than USD 260 mn in the terminal since it began operating it in 2021, and annual container volumes have climbed to more than 350k TEUs from 177k.

The next phase adds quay length and cranes: DP World will extend the quay by 222 meters to roughly 830 meters, add 10 hectares of operating space, and bring in three ship-to-shore cranes and 12 semi-automated rubber-tired gantry cranes. The longer berth will let the terminal work two post-Panamax vessels at once, and DP World expects it to cut vessel turnaround times by up to half.

Luanda is one of several Gulf-run gateways into Central Africa

GO DEEPER- Luanda sits within DP World’s expanding African footprint, which spans Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Somaliland and Tanzania.

Luanda's reach goes well beyond Angola: The port handles more than 76% of Angola's container and general cargo traffic and gives inland markets in the DRC and Zambia an outlet to the Atlantic. DP markets the terminal as a gateway toward southern Africa, including Kinshasa, the mineral-rich Katanga region, and Lusaka. That puts Luanda in the running for Central Africa's imports and its commodity exports.

AD Ports is expanding next door: AD Ports is redeveloping the former Unicargas terminal inside the Port of Luanda, through its Noatum Ports business. It holds 81% of the JV running the 192k sqm terminal under a 20-year concession. A USD 250 mn first phase will lift container capacity to 350k TEUs from 25k and RoRo volumes to more than 40k vehicles, with works due to wrap in 1Q 2027, according to its press release.

Neighboring ports are being built out too: DP World is building the DRC’s first deepwater container port of Banana, where the first phase is designed around a 600-meter quay and 450k TEUs of annual capacity. AD Ports is developing another terminal at Pointe-Noire and has explored a foothold at Matadi in the DRC.