2024-04-15 22:05:36
In Madagascar, the large port of Tamatave is changing its face. The extension work launched in 2018 has entered its second and final phase. The project, one of the largest projects ever undertaken on the island at a total cost of $639 million, is co-financed by JICA, the Japanese international cooperation agency, and the Malagasy state. It aims to make the island’s first port an Indian Ocean hub.
From our correspondent in Antananarivo,
A blazing sun reflects off the white construction helmets of the workers. There are nearly a thousand of them, mobilized to change the face of the port of Faton the east coast of Madagascar. A strategic port with dilapidated infrastructure, renovated for the first time since 1927.
The old breakwater has been reinforced. Extended to 345 meters in length and raised to 12 meters in height, it is surrounded on either side by nearly 3,000 reinforced concrete blocks – dolos in the jargon –, supposed to protect future infrastructure. “ These are the structures that will absorb the power of the waves, explains Felana Rakotozafy, maritime engineer on the site. The water passes through this breakwater, as we see during the cyclonic periods. And this can harm the quay, but especially the ships that will enter the quay. All my work is to ensure that after the work is finished, this platform does not move more than one centimeter. »
Responding to the increase in maritime traffic
Just opposite is the future C4 quay, still under construction. Its protection is all the more crucial as it constitutes the centerpiece of the site. With a depth increased to 16 meters, compared to 11 currently, it should allow the port of Tamatave to accommodate larger ships and become a hub of the Indian Ocean, capable of assuming a role in redistributing goods in the region. “ Until now we could not accommodate Panamax type boats [de près de 300 mètres de long, NDLR]. At the end of this work, we will be able to receive them directly without them stopping in Reunion or Mauritius and having to unload on small boats to enter the port of Madagascar. »
Completion planned for 2026, but accumulated delays
A little further, on the reef, the new 10-hectare platform dedicated to accommodating more containers. Objective: quintuple the port’s capacity, from 250,000 TEU to date [équivalent vingt pieds, soit le nombre de conteneurs de 20 pieds ou 6 mètres, NDLR] to 1 million TEU in 2035. As it stands, the port is suffocating due to lack of sufficient storage space. “ It’s really an emergency, it needs to be repaired, because the traffic is increasing day by day, observes Liliane Melquiond-Zafinirina, head of the communications department of SPAT, the port management company. Maritime transport is evolving. And we are an island, so the domestic needs of the country also require this expansion. »
There remains only one unknown, we admit half-heartedly on the site: the date of completion of the work. In addition to the delay accumulated during Covid-19, the site is regularly stopped by bad weather affecting the town of Tamatave. According to the established schedule, the new port should see the light of day in February 2026.
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