Report: Côte d’Ivoire, dry port of Ferkessedougou to increase trade with the hinterland

A dry port that should facilitate trade with the hinterland countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is being built in Côte d’Ivoire’s northern town of Ferkéssedougou

By Issiaka N’Guessan 

Dékokaha, a village located 5 km from the town of Ferkéssedougou. After the security corridor on the road to Ouangolodougou, on the right, the entrance sign to the dry port construction site. The first of its kind in Côte d’Ivoire. To gain access, after a slight slope, you have to show your credentials to the old guard with a stick.

Workers’ motorcycles are parked. A long fence has been erected to protect the infrastructure under construction. At the main entrance, there were two Chinese men and another man, of North African origin. They were talking in French. In the vast courtyard, houses are going up. The dry port of Ferkéssedougou is taking shape.

Financing: a consortium of Chinese banks and government of Côte d’Ivoire

The economic infrastructure under construction is composed of two batches. The first provides for « the development work of the site and the construction of the multimodal platform and the hydrocarbon depot ». The second consists of « construction work for the slaughterhouse complex and the regional livestock market ».

This project is funded by a consortium of Chinese banks and the government of Côte d’Ivoire. 254.171 billion CFA francs is the amount of the project which should enable Côte d’Ivoire to foster its ties with economic operators in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. No need for them to send trucks to Abidjan more than 500 km away.

« Job opportunities for young Ivorians and especially for those of Ferkéssedougou »

At the laying of the first stone by Patrick Achi, the Ivorian Prime Minister, Kandia Camara, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and the Diaspora said this economic infrastructure will reduce transit and transportation costs, while fostering the development of the Ivorian Savanes District.

Roméo Sanogo, the regional delegate of the national youth council of Tchologo and the Ferkéssedougou Department, said youth’s expectations consist exclusively of « job opportunities for young Ivorians and especially for those of Ferkéssedougou. We have taken steps to recruit young people; we have talked with officials of Complant [the Chinese company responsible for the work]. They have indicated their need for craftspeople, 50 masons, ironworkers, 10 carpenters, » said Romeo Sanogo. « The unemployment rate is high,” he noted.

President of the Chamber of Trades Coulibaly Zakaria estimates there are about ten small and medium-sized enterprises that are legal and in good standing. He maintains that « the rate of 30% of SMEs to be recruited on large-scale sites, prescribed by the regulations, is not respected. We expect the Chamber of Trades to be informed of major works, we are in the informal, the dry port can bring down unemployment in the region and reduce insecurity, » hopes the president of the Regional Chamber of Trades.

 « A large part of the food production stays in dustbins when Abidjan is saturated »

Coulibaly-Sékongo Sarkè, president of the women’s union of Ferkéssedougou, which has 80 associations and 4,000 women, says « the dry port was one of women’s expectations.

« Most of the food production stays in dustbins when Abidjan is saturated, » she said, adding that « women have always asked for infrastructure support for the processing and preservation of agricultural production.

« The dry port is a godsend for us; there are many unemployed graduates, » says the president of the Ferkéssedougou women’s union. « The job offers for dock workers, catering, real estate and hotel business will work full time with this dry port. She maintains that « many women, widows, are heads of family. This project will make it easy to sell products « with the permanent presence of trucks because the lack of trucks is an obstacle to the marketing of agricultural production.”

Expectations on the socio-economic level are far from being limited to Ferkéssedougou: this new trade point between Côte d’Ivoire and the hinterland countries should benefit the entire region.