Dubai-based global logistics and port management company DP World has chosen Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil to lead the development of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) first deep-water maritime gateway.

Located in a coastal town in Kongo Central province, the Banana Port is one of Africa’s largest infrastructure projects in the planning or construction stage, Africanews reported.

The project, funded by DP World with support from British International Investment (BII), will be developed in phases. The first phase envisions a 600-metre quay, a 30-hectare storage area, and an annual handling capacity of 450,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. The second phase will extend the quay wall by more than two kilometres, increasing capacity for larger vessels.

The DRC aims to reduce its dependence on foreign ports for global commerce and facilitate trade across the continent through the Banana Port, in part by centralising customs and administrative processes and cutting transport costs.

DP World Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is quoted by Africanews as describing the port as a “transformative” project that will reshape the DRC’s trade landscape and strengthen Africa’s position in global markets, while boosting intra-continental trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

DP World plans to enhance its global container handling capacity by approximately 5.4mn TEUs throughout 2025 to meet growing demand in key international trade markets, Shipping Arabia reported. If realised, that would elevate the group’s total capacity to an estimated 107.6mn TEUs, up from 102.2mn TEUs at the close of 2024.