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

The Port of Ndayane has moved into active marine and terminal construction south of Dakar. Jan De Nul's current project record defines a 5-kilometre access channel, about 10 million cubic metres of dredging and an 89-hectare reclaimed platform over a 36-month works period, while DP World identifies an 840-metre first-phase quay and 1.2 million TEU of initial terminal capacity. DP World said in March 2026 that construction was progressing on schedule, and Senegal's government has set 2028 as the target for full operation. Accepted dredged geometry, completed quay and yard works, installed terminal systems, harbour-service readiness and a first commercial call remain separate open evidence gates.

Project signal

Construction in Senegal

Track the project as linked but separately accepted marine, reclamation, quay, terminal and operating packages. Require dated evidence for channel and basin hydrography, rock-dredging completion, reclaimed-platform settlement and density, quay handover, terminal equipment and systems, navigation services, security and border controls, workforce readiness, integrated trials and first recurring commercial service.

Current status Marine works and container-terminal construction are active; the access channel, reclamation, quay and terminal packages remain under delivery, while 2028 is a government operating target rather than an accepted opening date Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Senegal / Africa

Segment

Deep-water ports and container terminals

Status

Marine works and container-terminal construction are active; the access channel, reclamation, quay and terminal packages remain under delivery, while 2028 is a government operating target rather than an accepted opening date / Confirmed

Evidence reviewed

15 July 2026

Controlled taxonomy

Related sectors

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Knowledge context

Related knowledge topics

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Project anatomy

Scope, counterparties, and execution logic

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, and its parent group reports the container-terminal package in the main construction phase. 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. Arrival of the cutter suction dredger Willem Van Rubroeck marked the start of maritime construction in December 2024. Jan De Nul describes a 36-month dredging and reclamation works period without converting that contractor window into a whole-port opening date. DP World said in March 2026 that Ndayane was under construction and progressing on schedule. Senegal's January 2026 Council of Ministers communication sets 2028 as a target for Ndayane and Sendou to become fully operational; it remains a government target until package acceptance, trial and service evidence is published.
Works package
The currently defined first phase comprises an 840-metre container quay, a 5-kilometre marine access channel and initial terminal capacity of 1.2 million TEU. Jan De Nul quantifies approximately 10 million cubic metres of dredging and an 89-hectare reclaimed platform, with dredged material reused for land formation where suitable. DP World's 2020 agreement identifies a 300-hectare container-terminal development within a wider port estate and a second phase adding 410 metres of quay and further channel dredging. Eventual estate and quay figures remain long-term development parameters, not present accepted capacity.
Marine interfaces
The marine package joins hard-rock excavation in exposed Atlantic conditions to production control by a high-capacity cutter suction dredger, survey and environmental monitoring, transport and placement of reusable dredged material, shoreline containment, reclamation compaction and settlement, and release of stable formation to quay, yard and utility contractors. The completed geometry must then connect to berth structures, fenders and bollards, pavements, cranes, terminal systems, road and rail interfaces, aids to navigation, pilotage and towage, ISPS and emergency controls, customs, trained staff and integrated vessel trials.
Commercial read
The quantified dredging and reclamation assignment materially improves scope visibility, but it does not establish whole-port percentage completion. The 36-month marine works period is a contractor package window, the 2028 date is a national operating target, and DP World's schedule statement is an attributed developer update. Commercial readiness depends on accepted interfaces across packages held by different parties. Land dialogue with nearby communities and the project's stated seagrass, water-quality and marine-mammal controls should be tracked as delivery conditions rather than treated as peripheral reporting.
Next milestone
Track dated dredging production and hydrographic acceptance, completion and monitoring of the 89-hectare reclamation, quay and terminal civil progress, terminal-equipment awards and delivery, utility and digital-system commissioning, navigation-service and security approvals, resolution of land interfaces, integrated vessel and cargo trials, and publication of a first commercial-service date supported by accepted operating evidence.

Material change register

What changed, when, and what it proves

Only source-bound events that alter phase, scope, counterparties, delivery, completion, commissioning, or acceptance are listed. A change can advance the record without proving the next gate.

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.

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CCCC reported the container-terminal package in main construction

The contractor parent identified Ndayane as entering its main construction phase, advancing the terminal-civil record without publishing a package percentage, completed marine geometry, quay acceptance, or operating-readiness evidence.

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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. That package evidence does not establish whole-port completion.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Delivery watch

Evidence needed next

Track dated dredging production and hydrographic acceptance, completion and monitoring of the 89-hectare reclamation, quay and terminal civil progress, terminal-equipment awards and delivery, utility and digital-system commissioning, navigation-service and security approvals, resolution of land interfaces, integrated vessel and cargo trials, and publication of a first commercial-service date supported by accepted operating evidence.

Decision watchpoints

  • Dredging production, hard-rock excavation and accepted channel hydrography
  • 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

Project availability status

This public project page is a tracked market record rather than a tender notice, contractual commitment, or commercial instruction. Use the status, confidence label, evidence-review date, and source note together when judging how much weight to place on the signal.

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Record control

Evidence reviewed date is not a project-event date.

IMWO changes phase, participants, scope, completion, or acceptance wording only when a dated source establishes the change. The review date records when the evidence set was checked; it does not claim that physical work changed on that date.

Evidence reviewed 15 July 2026 Sources in this record 13

Source record

Jan De Nul's dated 17 February 2025 release confirms that access-channel dredging had started and gives a two-and-a-half-year works period; its current project page controls the same 5-kilometre channel, 10 million cubic metres and 89-hectare reclamation but now describes a 36-month package window. The current 36-month window is retained without inventing a date for that schedule change. DP World's January 2022 first-stone release is a ceremonial construction-start statement; its December 2024 release controls the later physical start of maritime construction and the first-phase quay and capacity figures. Its March 2026 release provides the developer's current construction-status statement. The 2020 agreement controls the joint-venture, development and phased-scope structure. Senegal Presidency records confirm CHEC involvement, the 2028 government target and continuing local land dialogue. Those records do not establish a whole-port completion percentage, fixed opening date, unreported package boundary or accepted commercial capacity.

Phase: construction. Evidence reviewed: 15 July 2026.

Project sources 13