USTDA awards grant for new Bargny-Sendou port

The United States Trade and Development Agency today awarded Senegal Minergy Port (SMP) a grant to design, finance and build a new multi-commodity port in Bargny-Sendou.

USTDA’s grant will fund a feasibility study to provide SMP with a proposed design, terminal layout and operational plan for the port. The study will also assess the port’s environmental and social impact as well as its financial feasibility, providing SMP with the level of information necessary to secure financing.

“This project, which builds upon USTDA’s continued support for the Doing Business in Africa initiative, will help increase Senegal’s import and export capacity,” USTDA Director Leocadia Zak said. “We are pleased to connect U.S. expertise to world-class port infrastructure developments like this one.”

Economic growth in West Africa has exploded, driving for the need for new bulk commodities ports, especially for the cement and chemicals industries, which are expected to grow exponentially over the next decade and a half.

This project, which the White House announced during President Barack Obama’s recent trip to sub-Saharan Africa, supports the Administration’s Doing Business in Africa initiative.