Project record

Port of Ndayane Deep-water Port and Container Terminal

Excavator and dozer placing reclaimed material on the Ndayane shoreline while the marine works fleet operates offshore

Jan De Nul Group

DP World reported on 27 July 2026 that the Port of Ndayane's major dredging works were completed 13 months ahead of the original September 2027 package schedule. The developer records a 5-kilometre access channel dredged to 20 metres, a 600-metre turning basin and an 875-metre berth pocket, with more than 95% of the excavated material comprising rock and the hardest formations exceeding 100 MPa. The work was completed without blasting using two large cutter suction dredgers. This closes a major excavation milestone, but it does not complete the port: quay construction, remaining marine and civil works, the reclaimed platform, yard and terminal systems, harbour services, statutory approvals, integrated trials and commercial opening remain ahead of the 2028 target.

Project signal

Construction in Senegal

Current status DP World reports the major dredging works complete 13 months ahead of schedule; quay and other marine and civil works remain active, while 2028 is a target rather than an accepted opening date Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Senegal / Africa

Segment

Deep-water ports and container terminals

Status

DP World reports the major dredging works complete 13 months ahead of schedule; quay and other marine and civil works remain active, while 2028 is a target rather than an accepted opening date / Confirmed

Last checked

14 August 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Deep-water ports and container terminals 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
Port Autonome de Dakar and DP World Dakar S.A.
Delivery parties
DP World, Jan De Nul Group, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC)
Contract route
DP World Dakar S.A., the joint venture between DP World and Port Autonome de Dakar, is developing and will operate the container terminal under the 2020 agreement. DP World is responsible for financing, design and development of the land and marine infrastructure identified in that agreement. Jan De Nul holds the defined access-channel dredging and reclamation assignment. China Harbour Engineering Company is identified by Senegal's Presidency as participating in construction, while its parent group's HKEX filings identify Ndayane among its major overseas signed projects. Quay, breakwater and acceptance responsibilities are not assigned beyond the package descriptions published by those parties.
Execution window
The development agreement was signed in December 2020, and arrival of Willem Van Rubroeck marked the physical start of maritime construction in December 2024. DP World says the major dredging works were originally scheduled to finish in September 2027 but concluded 13 months early. The developer now describes quay and other marine and civil works as the active next phase. Its 2028 programme date remains a target until those packages, terminal systems, statutory controls and operating trials are completed and accepted.
Works package
The first phase comprises an 840-metre container quay, a 5-kilometre access channel and 1.2 million TEU of designed annual capacity. DP World's completion record gives a channel dredged to 20 metres, a 600-metre turning basin and an 875-metre berth pocket sized for two Triple E-class vessels. Jan De Nul's package record adds approximately 10 million cubic metres of dredging and an 89-hectare reclaimed platform. DP World's current Senegal page separately advertises an 18-metre vessel draft; the 20-metre dredged depth and 18-metre operating draft are different design and operating measures and are not treated as interchangeable. Phase 2 still comprises a further 410 metres of quay and expanded terminal capacity.
Marine interfaces
Completion of the major excavation moves the critical path from hard-rock production to verified dredged geometry, quay and berth construction, reclaimed-ground release and system integration. The 20-metre channel, 600-metre turning basin and 875-metre berth pocket must be tied to accepted hydrography, navigation criteria and berth structures. The reclaimed platform must satisfy containment, density and settlement requirements before yard, utility and equipment loads are accepted. Fenders, bollards, pavements, cranes, terminal software, road interfaces, navigation aids, pilotage, towage, ISPS, emergency controls, customs and trained staff then have to operate together through vessel and cargo trials.
Commercial evidence boundary
Early dredging completion removes a material excavation risk and may release quay and civil work fronts sooner, but it is not a whole-port completion percentage or operating approval. The published release is a developer completion statement for major dredging; no separate as-built hydrographic acceptance package is cited. Commercial readiness still depends on the quay, reclaimed platform, terminal equipment and systems, navigation and security services, border controls and recurring vessel operations. The 2028 date therefore remains a programme target rather than a confirmed service commencement.

Project timeline

Material developments

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

Open this project in the Change Log

DP World reported major dredging complete 13 months early

The developer records a 5-kilometre channel dredged to 20 metres, a 600-metre turning basin and an 875-metre berth pocket, with more than 95% rock and no blasting. The cited completion record covers major excavation; as-built hydrographic acceptance, reclaimed-platform release, terminal commissioning and commercial opening remain separate milestones.

Source

Senegal set 2028 as a full-operation target

The Council of Ministers placed Ndayane among projects intended to become fully operational by 2028. This is a government delivery target, not evidence of completed dredging, accepted quay and terminal systems, commissioned harbour services, or commercial opening.

Source

Senegal confirmed CHEC's construction role

The Presidency identified China Harbour Engineering Company as participating in construction of the new port. This supports the contractor attribution but does not define its package boundaries, publish a completion percentage, or establish accepted marine, quay, terminal or operating works.

Source

Jan De Nul confirmed access-channel dredging had started

The contractor defined five kilometres of channel, about 10 million cubic metres, an 89-hectare reclaimed platform, hard-rock excavation by Willem Van Rubroeck, and a two-and-a-half-year works period. Those records describe the dredging and reclamation package, not the completion state of the quay, terminal systems or operating services.

Source

Arrival of Willem Van Rubroeck started maritime construction

DP World marked physical commencement of the marine package with the cutter suction dredger's arrival. The milestone begins dredging and reclamation delivery; it does not prove accepted channel depth, completed reclamation, quay handover, or terminal operation.

Source

DP World and Senegal laid the first stone

The ceremony marked the stated start of construction and restated the 840-metre first-phase quay, five-kilometre channel, 1.2 million TEU initial capacity, and later 410-metre quay. A first-stone event is not physical proof that those assets were built or accepted.

Source

DP World and Senegal signed the development agreement

The agreement established the joint-venture development and operating route and the two-phase port frame. It created the commercial and scope baseline but did not constitute a construction start, marine award, or operating approval.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Final hydrographic record and acceptance basis for the completed dredging
  • Reclamation containment, density, settlement and formation-level handover
  • Quay, yard, utilities and terminal-equipment package progress
  • Environmental monitoring for seagrass, water quality and marine mammals
  • Land access, community dialogue and contractor interface continuity
  • Pilotage, towage, navigation aids, VTS, ISPS and emergency readiness
  • Customs, terminal systems, workforce training and integrated trials
  • First commercial call and repeat-service evidence against the 2028 target

Related records 4

Reporting status

Construction, confirmed confidence

Last checked 14 August 2026 across 16 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 14 August 2026 Cited sources 16

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 16