HPC awarded African pre-feasibility study

Specifically, HPC has been tasked with identifying investment requirements for operation, rail connection to the hinterland and for a dry port terminal at the newly built port in the south of Mauritania.

“This ambitious project aims to put currently untapped maritime facilities to good use in order to further develop the industry in the region,” said Dr Martin Schramm, who is managing the project at HPC.

Port potential

The port currently has a 180m quay wall for commercial purposes with a limited back yard, which needs to be developed. Other parts of the port that were built for fishing and other purposes can also be reconstructed for cargo handling.

A consortium led by Mimarine International is pursuing the goal of better connecting the southern hinterland of Mauritania to international maritime traffic.

HPC’s role wil to carry out a pre-feasibility study involving the development of port operations, the railway connection of 70 km to the planned railway route between the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott and the border of Mali, as well as the conceptual designing of a dry port terminal at the intended railway junction.

The overall objective of the study is the investigation of potential developments to stimulate port operations and the realisation of necessary additional infrastructure investments to achieve this.

It will involve the analysis and evaluation of potential commodities and cargo flows, as well as the development of a functional and efficient operations concept that will meet market demand in terms of volume and performance within resource requirements.

The results of the pre-feasibility study are expected to be available in January 2023.