The $1.2 billion Ndayane port megaproject, promoted by logistics giant DP World alongside the Senegalese government, has cleared its main technical hurdle. French contractor Jan De Nul Group has completed the capital dredging work 13 months ahead of schedule, accelerating the transition to the maritime construction and civil works phase at the future deepwater terminal.
According to maritime-sector wage estimates compiled by specialist labor-analysis sources in West Africa, including Salaires.sn, Payscale and the International Labour Organization (ILO), a dockworker in Senegal earns between €120 net per month for temporary or daily workers (journaliers) and approximately €530 per month for professional dockworkers with permanent contracts who are part of the port workforce (BMOP). In all cases, their pay is above Senegal’s statutory minimum wage, which ranges from approximately €90 to €115 per month.
The completion of the extraction campaign, which began in December 2024 and concluded last July 2026—13 months ahead of the initial September 2027 deadline—removes the project’s highest operational-risk phase. The work has made it possible to establish a five-kilometer navigation channel, a turning basin and the quay face. More than 95% of the material removed was hard rock with compressive strengths exceeding 100 megapascals. It was extracted without blasting, using the cutter suction dredger Willem Van Rubroeck and support vessels.
Replacing Dakar with capacity for 1.2 million TEUs
Located 50 kilometers south of Dakar, Ndayane port is designed to overcome the physical limitations of the Senegalese capital’s existing port, which is hemmed in by the urban fabric. In its first phase, the new facilities will include an 840-meter container quay and an initial operating capacity of 1.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
The master plan includes a second phase that will add 410 meters of quay, as well as a long-term development that will exceed three kilometers of port infrastructure. With more than 1,000 workers deployed on site, contractors are now focusing on pile driving, quay-wall construction and the foundations for the onshore yards to keep the opening date set for 2028.
Industrial corridor backed by British financing
The investment is supported financially by the British state-owned fund British International Investment (BII), which is a strategic partner alongside DP World. The project is not limited to maritime operations; it also includes the creation of a Special Economic Zone directly connected to Blaise Diagne International Airport. Senegal’s government estimates that the Ndayane logistics and industrial hub will contribute around 3% of national GDP once fully operational, consolidating Senegal’s position as the main gateway for cargo entering and being redistributed along West Africa’s Atlantic coast.
DP World in West Africa: $1.2 billion Senegal project brings Dakar opening forward by 13 months was first published on canarymaritime.com.
