The AFD Group in the port and maritime sector

Published on 14/05/2024

GLOBAL THREATS AND ORGANISED CRIME

Maritime transport, which alone accounts for more than 80% of the world’s trade, is at the heart of international trade. In Europe, nearly 40% of trade passes through seaports. Port platforms are thus an essential element of economic growth and integration into global trade. However, recent geopolitical upheavals and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the fragility of maritime supply chains, highlighting the strategic importance of ports, as well as associated land corridors and sea routes, to maintain the balance and fluidity of international trade.

AFD Group in the port and maritime transport sector

As a major player in economic and sustainable development, the AFD Group is committed alongside partner countries, stakeholders in the port and maritime sector, to meet the economic, social and environmental challenges they face.
With a solid strategic intervention framework and operational experience in these areas, the AFD group deploys a comprehensive and integrated an approach, relying on the various instruments at its disposal. The aim is ultimately to support the modernization of major port facilities and the performance of logistics chains at the scale of sub-regions, to improve the
integration of their economies in international economic exchanges and their sustainable development.

tervention framework

The AFD Group’s strategic intervention framework in the port and maritime transport sector is fully in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is structured around the following four axes:

Improve the performance of port platforms and maximize local benefits on the economy and employment.
Opening up and developing hinterlands by structuring strategic transport corridors and efficient, sustainable and resilient logistics systems in the Global Gateway dynamic supported by the European Union,
Reduce the sector’s impacts on the environment and supporting its energy transition to lower its carbon footprint.
Strengthen port and maritime safety and security, essential issues for the fluidity and reliability of international trade.

To achieve this, the AFD Group can mobilize a diverse range of instruments:

Financing to public institutions in their mission though loans (sovereign or non-sovereign, on market or concessional terms) or grants dedicated to investments of various kinds (studies, works, equipment).
Financing to private port actors to support their investment plan with strategic and technical support if needed.
Technical cooperation through advice, technical assistance or capacity-building activities, in particular for port authorities and relevant public institutions (training, peer-to-peer exchanges, institutional support, etc.) by mobilizing public and private expertise.

Nos projets phares

European maritime and port security projects
Maritime security issues are inherently transnational and therefore require a coordinated national and regional response. Aligning with the European maritime security strategy, we are implementing several European projects to strengthen national, regional, and supra-regional cooperation in critical infrastructure protection and maritime safety and security.
The GoGIN and EnMAR projects in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as ESIWA and CRIMARIO in the Indo-Pacific and SEACOP in the in the Caribbean, West Africa, and Latin America, notably contribute to strengthening dialogue and fostering a shared maritime culture among states, enabling them to better understand and manage their maritime domains.

Extension and modernization of the Port of Pointe-Noire in Congo
As a long-standing partner of the Port Authority of Pointe-Noire (PAPN), we have contributed through two financings granted in 2009 and 2016, for a total amount of €266 million, to improving the port's capacity (dredging and installation of container, bulk, and conventional terminals),efficiency (accounting and financial management, facilitation of port passage), and environmental management of the Pointe-Noire is the only maritime outlet of Congo and the main deep-water port in the sub-region.
Additionally, the implementation of an EU grant enabled the relocation of the fishing port to resolve usage conflicts with the commercial port.

Visit the project website

Support to Terminal Link for the operation of the Port of Umm Qasr in Iraq
We have granted a $33 million loan to Terminal Link (a JV between CMA CGM and China Merchant Ports) to modernize the container terminal at Umm Qasr Port in Iraq, a vital infrastructure for the country's economy, which is marked by conflicts and a heavy reliance on oil. This port, which has existed since the 1930s, is indeed the main gateway for the import of essential goods to Iraq, through which 60% of the country's goods transit.