DP World Extends Port of Luanda Concession and Invests $90 Million

DP World has obtained a 10-year extension to its concession to operate the multipurpose terminal at the Port of Luanda in Angola, extending the concession period until 2051, after starting terminal operations in 2021 under a 20-year contract.

The company plans to invest an additional $90 million over two years, on top of more than $260 million invested over five years to modernize the terminal. This year, the company added two additional mobile harbor cranes and equipment for handling empty containers, raising its mobile crane fleet to eight, and increased reefer container plugs from 630 to 700.

The expansion adds 222 meters of quay and 10 hectares of operational area, raising design capacity to 1.2 million TEUs annually, with plans to acquire three quay cranes and 12 semi-automated gantry cranes to enable the terminal to handle two large vessels simultaneously.

Annual throughput has nearly doubled from 177,000 TEUs to over 350,000 TEUs. Mohammed Akoojee, CEO of DP World in Africa, said the concession is an "important milestone for Angola and the broader region," adding that the ability to handle larger vessels will support new shipping services and reduce turnaround time.

What do these terms mean?

Concession: A contract granting a private company the right to operate a public facility for a specified period in exchange for agreed investment commitments.

Multipurpose terminal: A quay equipped to receive various types of cargo, such as containers and bulk cargo, rather than a single type.

Standard container: A unit of measurement for port handling volume, symbolized as TEU, equivalent to a 20-foot container.