Gambia seals port deal

Sell-side Transaction Advisor for the deal was Netherlands-based MTBS.

Speaking to Port Strategy, Robert Schot, Senior Manager, MTBS, explained: “Our role as Transaction Advisor was to support the Gambia Ports Authority during the negotiations process. This entailed strategic advice on the preferred contract set-up, financial advice related to the viability of the project, technical advice which included the required design specifications and legal advice in drafting the concession and shareholder agreements.”

Under the terms of the concession, Albayrak will rehabilitate the Port of Banjul and develop a new deep-sea port in Sanyang. The latter requirement is essentially an acknowledgement that the port of Banjul, located in a dense urban area, has only limited potential for further expansion and faces difficulties with landside access – truck access – in times of heavy usage.

Sanyang is located just over 40km from Banjul and offers deep water as well as being located in close proximity to international road connections. The masterplan, as conceived by Albayrak, is to develop the new port on a phased basis with operations covering a wide range of cargo handling activities spanning container, general cargo, dry and liquid bulks etc. Two 500m container berths are envisaged. Overall, the port will be industrial in character and additionally feature a free zone, industrial zone and agricultural and fish processing zone. Albayrak will seek other investors to participate in the areas of planned activity and in conjunction with support activities in the logistics and other sectors.

The short-term development works at Banjul will have a strong focus on upgrading container capacity and overall terminal performance. This meshes with the Banjul Port 4^th Expansion Project, now underway and financed by the African Development Bank, which comprises four key objectives: reduction of vessel waiting time; avoidance of congestion and costly associated payments, investment in new capacity, generally boosting efficiency via digitalisation, facilitating improved traffic flow around the port and the provision of cost-effective and reliable green and low emitting ferries.

Over the longer term there is the possibility of the relocation of the port of Banjul to Sanyang with the old port being developed on a real estate basis incorporating purpose-built marinas and facilities for cruise vessels.

Ousman Jobarteh, Managing Director, Gambia Ports Authority (GPA), commenting on the role of MTBS at the concession signing ceremony underlined: “The technical support and meticulous analysis by MTBS of the financial and commercial aspects of the transaction led to the closure of the deal to the benefit of the client, GPA.”