Project record

Bujumbura Port Lake Tanganyika corridor rehabilitation

Aerial view of Bujumbura Port on Lake Tanganyika with lake-going cargo vessels alongside the existing quays

Dredging Today

Bujumbura Port now has three distinct delivery tracks. The active AfDB/EU Phase I package covers a 545-metre protective dike, basin and harbour dredging, repaired and new quays, passenger and Ro-Ro facilities, a marine dock, equipment, and 11.7 kilometres of access roads. A separate JICA package was handed over in October 2024. A UNDP/EU engineering study presented in March 2026 defines a further climate-resilience planning track rather than completed construction.

Project signal

Construction in Burundi

Current status Ongoing at programme level; March 2025 remains the latest quantitative Phase I physical-progress baseline Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Burundi / Africa

Segment

Marine infrastructure

Status

Ongoing at programme level; March 2025 remains the latest quantitative Phase I physical-progress baseline / Confirmed

Last checked

21 July 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Marine infrastructure is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
Autorité Maritime et Portuaire du Burundi (AMPB); historical project documents name its predecessor AMPF
Delivery parties
Khoury Contracting Company (KCC)
Contract route
AfDB, European Union, and Government of Burundi grant-financed public works contract signed on 1 July 2023, with Khoury Contracting Company identified as the main contractor.
Execution window
The main works contract carried an initial 24-month execution period from July 2023. A 7 March 2025 AfDB/EU/government inspection found the 545-metre protective dike 45% complete and set an end-2026 infrastructure target. AfDB's current MapAfrica record separately lists the wider programme as ongoing with planned completion on 31 December 2027. These are different schedule boundaries. A February 2026 fisher and enterprise-support works notice and a March 2026 resilience-study presentation confirm continued programme activity but do not update physical progress of the marine works.
Works package
Repair existing cargo and container quays, reinforce the north-pier head, construct a 545-metre rubble-mound protective dike, build passenger and Ro-Ro quay facilities and a marine dock, dredge and excavate the inner basin, outer harbour, and construction footprints, remove obsolete south-pier and dyke structures, install fenders, bollards, beacon lights, rescue and firefighting craft, acquire handling equipment, and rehabilitate five access-road sections totalling 11.7 kilometres.
Marine interfaces
Work must sequence dike closure, dredging and excavation, quay demolition and reconstruction, prefabricated-block placement, marine-dock formation, navigation and rescue systems, and vessel access while managing rising Lake Tanganyika levels, drainage inflows, imported marine plant, live port activity, and interfaces with the completed JICA facilities.
Commercial evidence boundary
The March 2025 implementation update values the monitored package at about EUR45.25 million, financed 52% by AfDB, 43% by the EU, and 5% by Burundi. An earlier 2023 launch release cited EUR79 million for the broader renovation programme; the figures should not be merged. MapAfrica records a UA35.732 million lender commitment for the wider five-component programme, another distinct boundary. Current exposure sits in delayed marine mobilisation, high-water resilience, design validation, dike and quay productivity, dredging and disposal acceptance, equipment supply, and interfaces between completed, active, and planned work.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

UNDP presented a climate-resilience engineering study for the port

The study followed the 2024 Lake Tanganyika flooding and proposes phased reinforcement, drainage, and resilient expansion measures. It creates a planning and investment track; it does not establish completion or new physical progress of the active Phase I marine works.

Source

AfDB published adjacent fisher and enterprise-support works procurement

The notice confirms continued activity within the wider corridor programme. Its scope is not a progress certificate for the protective dike, dredging, quays, marine dock, roads, or port equipment.

Source

Joint inspection recorded the 545-metre protective dike at 45%

AfDB, the EU, and Burundi set the latest reviewed quantitative baseline and an end-2026 target for the infrastructure works. The release also identified follow-on quay and marine-dock works and 11.7 kilometres of access roads.

Source

Burundi handed over the separate JICA port-improvement package

The completed package covered container-terminal, ship-repair, drainage-diversion, and basin improvements. Its handover must remain separate from the active AfDB/EU Phase I dike, dredging, quay, dock, road, and equipment scope.

Source

Government review exposed design and marine-mobilisation delays

Le Renouveau identified Khoury Contracting Company and reported delay associated with plan validation and imported equipment. The record established delivery risk rather than an accepted completion percentage.

Source

The main Phase I works contract entered its initial 24-month period

The contract start defines the original execution baseline for the active AfDB/EU package. Subsequent inspection evidence displaced that original window and moved the working infrastructure target to end-2026.

Source

Burundi created AMPB to replace AMPF as the maritime and port authority

The statutory change removes rail regulation from the authority and corrects the current owner-side name. Historical project documents still name AMPF; the change does not alter the KCC works contract, scope, progress baseline, schedule, or acceptance status.

Source

AfDB approved the five-component Lake Tanganyika corridor programme

The lender baseline combines port and access-road rehabilitation, port facilities, institutional support, trade facilitation, and project management. MapAfrica currently lists the programme as ongoing with planned completion on 31 December 2027.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Dated Phase I progress after the March 2025 45% dike baseline
  • Protective-dike completion and high-water resilience
  • Passenger/Ro-Ro quay and marine-dock construction
  • Inner-basin, outer-harbour, and construction dredging acceptance
  • Marine equipment, handling systems, navigation aids, and rescue craft
  • Interface with the completed JICA package and 11.7-kilometre road works
  • Investment decisions arising from the 2026 resilience study
  • Schedule reconciliation between the end-2026 infrastructure target and 31 December 2027 programme date

Related records 2

Reporting status

Construction, confirmed confidence

Last checked 21 July 2026 across 10 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 21 July 2026 Cited sources 10

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 10