UAE-based global ports operator DP World has secured a 10-year extension to operate Angola’s Multipurpose Terminal at the Port of Luanda until 2051.
The agreement also includes a US$90 million expansion that will raise the terminal's annual design capacity from 500,000 to 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to DP World.
The company announced the agreement during the inauguration of a new terminal building in Luanda on October 6. It said the additional investment will be deployed over the next two years to expand infrastructure, modernize equipment and strengthen operations.
The project will lengthen the terminal’s quay by 222 meters, taking it from 610 meters to 830 meters, while expanding the operating area by 10 hectares to 37 hectares.
DP World plans to add three ship-to-shore cranes and 12 semi-automated rubber-tyred gantry cranes. Once complete, the terminal will be able to accommodate two Post-Panamax vessels simultaneously, improving berth productivity and reducing vessel turnaround times.
The expansion is intended to support rising cargo flows through Angola and position Luanda as a stronger gateway for trade across southern and western Africa. Container traffic at the facility has nearly doubled since DP World began operating it in March 2021. Annual throughput increased from about 177,000 TEUs to more than 350,000 TEUs, according to the company.
DP World initially signed a 20-year concession in January 2021 and committed $190 million to upgrade the terminal. It has since invested more than $260 million in the facility, including yard expansion and terminal improvements. The new $90 million program takes the terminal’s planned capacity well beyond the roughly 700,000-TEU target set under the original agreement.
The company operates across at least nine African territories and has signaled plans to commit a further $4 billion to the continent.
