The construction of the first deep water port in the Mauritanian city of Nouadhibou (470 km north of Nouakchott) will begin before the end of the year, a senior official has disclosed.The president of the Nouadhibou Free Zone ….
The construction of the first deep water port in the Mauritanian city of Nouadhibou (470 km north of Nouakchott) will begin before the end of the year, a senior official has disclosed.The president of the Nouadhibou Free Zone (ZFN) Mohamed Ould Daf told an investment forum on Monday, that the feasibility study for the project has already been concluded.
He said the new infrastructure will have potent technical characteristics.
The depth will be 18 meters at the commercial wharf, he said, adding that the deep water port will “radically change the commercial scene in the sub-region.”
According to him, such technical characteristics will enhance the competitiveness of many key sectors of the Mauritanian economy, such as fishing, mining and trade.
Daf pointed out that these sectors have long suffered from prohibitive shipping costs, due to the low capacity of the existing ports.
Thanks to these shortcomings, most shipping fleets and deep-sea fishing boats were shunning Mauritanian ports, he explained.
Nouadhibou is a haven for fisheries activities because of its particularly fish-endowed coast and its proximity to the Europe and the US via the Atlantic Ocean.
The city is also home to the port of SNIM from where Mauritania’s iron ore is exported.
