CELEBRATION OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF « l’Intelligent d’Abidjan »THE JOURNALISTS SET OFF TO DISCOVER ABIDJAN PORT

Autres Tuesday 14 November 2023

In the margins of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of « l’Intelligent d’Abidjan » a daily news paper under the sponsorship of Mr Amadou KONE Minister of Transport and under the chairmanship of Mr Hien Yacouba SIE Managing Director of  Abidjan Port Authority, a Special Day of Discovery of Abidjan Port was organized for local as well as subregional journalists led by Mr ALAFE Wakili ,the top manager of this newspaper.

This day of immersion in Abidjan Port,took place under  the theme « Abidjan Port Authority to day ,its position in the Economic Development of Côte  d’Ivoire  and the sub-region,its Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR) »

Firstly     Mr Hien Yacouba SIE ,Managing Director extended his congratulations to the executives of «    l’ Intelligent d’Abidjan »for the longevity of this news organization,then he brilliantly made a presentation of Abidjan Port .With supporting figures and pictures,Mr Hien SIE traced the history of its  development, its major upgrading projects,the quality of its infrastructure and superstructure,its weight in the national economy,its development prospects ands its initiative in corporate social responsability.

 

He highlighted the weight of Abidjan Port in the national economy ,accounting for more than 80% of customs revenues in 2022. The good financial health of Abidjan Port Authority with a short term financial rating of A1- with a stable outlook and a longterm rating of AA-with a stable outlook ,granted by Bloomfield Investment Corporation ,a pan African financial rating agency ; and the port has doubled its income in one decade from 53 billion CFAF in 2011 to 116 billion CFAF in 2022.

He also made a presentation of development projects completed,which significantly improved the Abidjan Port,s competitiveness.These  are the mole of the Fishing Harbour,the widened and deepened Vridi Canal,the RORO Terminal,the second Container Terminal-the flagship of the Abidjan Port ‘s infrastructure.

The Top Manager of PAA also seized the opportunity of this meeting to congratulate all his fellow workers for their major contribution to the developement of Abidjan Port.All this being achieved has earned the Port the recognition by the State through the granting to the Abidjan Port Authority of the 2023 National Award of Excellence for its best contribution to the boom of the transport industry.

As regards  prospects, Mr Hien SIE highlighted the construction of crossing works over Vridi Canal for a better access to land reserves ;the increase in the density of road network, the  rehabilitation of the railway ; the construction of roads to by-pass Abidjan City in order to reduce congestion in the port area ; the putting into operation of a single window facility for external trade and the development of a system of goods transport by barge within the lagoon water area.

With regard to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Mr Hien SIE recalled the ISO 9001/2015 quality,ISO 14001/2015 environment and ISPS code for the safety and security of ships and port facilities triple  certifications received by Abidjan Port Authority.

The commitment of Abidjan Port Authority  to promote Excellence,is illustrated by the signing of a partnership agreement of 25 million CFA F annually over five years with the Mathematical Society of Côte  d’Ivoire,  and by Gender promotion with the training in Gender Engineering of 10 PAA’s workers at «  chaire UNESCO ,Eau ,Femme, et Pouvoir de Décision »

Prior to the meeting in the conference hall marked out by fruitful discussions, the journalists were taken on a guided tour of the port facilities where they have been able, to see for themselves, the tremendous progress made by Abidjan Port to be recognizeid as a giant in Africa.