With its acquisition of the African operations of French logistics group Bolloré, shipping line MSC Group is also the operator of 12 of the main commercial ports in the region.In terms of the multibillion-dollar deal, MSC acquires all of Bolloré’s shipping, logistics and terminal operations on the African continent. These include TC2 and Abidjan Terminal (Port of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire); Benin Terminal (Port of Cotonou, Benin); Congo Terminal (Port of Pointe-Noire, Congo); Conakry Terminal (Port of Conakry, Guinea); Dakar Terminal (Port of Dakar, Senegal); Douala Terminal (Port of Douala, Cameroon); Freetown Terminal (Port of Freetown, Sierra Leone); MPS Terminal (Port of Tema, Ghana); Owendo Terminal (Port of Libreville, Gabon); SMTC Terminal (Port of Cotonou, Benin); Tincan Terminal (Port of Lagos, Nigeria); and Togo Terminal (Port of Lomé, Togo), where MSC owns the Lomé container terminal (LCT).MSC consolidated its Asia-West Africa volumes at Lomé in 2014, according to news site TogoFirst. Inland, it operates Bangui Terminal (Port of Bangui, Central African Republic).In addition, Bolloré operates We st A f r ic a n dry terminals in Lomé (Togo), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Ngaoundéré (C a meroon), Bélabo (Cameroon) and Kinshasa (DRC).Prior to the purchase of Bolloré, MSC was involved in terminal management through its majority-owned subsidiary, Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), which operates the Terminal de San Pedro in Côte d’Ivoire and the Lomé Container Terminal in Togo.The port of Abidjan, which is now part of the MSC stable, is West Africa’s biggest port. It is operated jointly by APM Terminals (49%) and Bolloré Africa Logistics (51%).On the website for APM Terminals it states: “Abidjan Terminal is the primary gateway to the Côte d’Ivoire for containers. Excellent road connections also make it a major transit point for landlocked countries such as Mali, Niger and Burk ina Faso.”It goes on to state that “annual container capacity is 1.5 million TEUs”.Providing an alternative to the MSC operations is Port Djibouti, which is operated by the state-owned Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority. It is linked to Ethiopia by rail and handles about 95% of the landlocked country’s international trade, according to the port authority.Increasing volumes through the Tema terminal in Ghana has generated investment in the country’s oldest port, Takoradi. In a venture undertaken by wholly-owned Ghanaian firm Ibistek, the port is being modernised and will provide another alternative to the MSC operations.According to Ibistek, once completed, the terminal will be able to accommodate vessels of up to 19 000 TEUs.This is expected to attract container traffic from Tema and other neighbouring ports such as Lomé and Abidjan, according to a media statement.Takoradi is supported by an inland container depot created out of a concessionary agreement between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and Ibistek.There are also plans to expand the port of Keta.According to Ghana’s transport minister, Kwaku Asiamah, Keta will include facilities for the oil and fishing industries, as well as a multi-purpose terminal capable of handling container vessels and ro-ros
