Port of Goubet opens up Djibouti to salt exploration and export
Djibouti has opened the Port of Goubet with the main aim of making it a key terminal for salt exportation.
It has the capacity to export five million tonnes, to the world from Lake Assal, one of the lowest spots in the world. The Port, which has been under construction for the last two years at a cost of $64 million, was officially inaugurated by the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh.
Located 40km south of the Gulf of Goubet, the Port of Ghoubet is the second to be launched in the north of the country following the launch of Port Tadjourah on June 15, 2017, which is a facility dedicated to the export of potash. The China-funded facility is expected to handle about six million tonnes of salt each year. The sea port will also benefit regional economic powerhouse, Ethiopia, as it is expected to facilitate the export of minerals from the landlocked neighbour.
Djibouti, strategically situated at the mouth of the Red Sea, is undertaking a 15 billion dollar infrastructure development programme to make itself a multi-modal logistics hub for the Horn of Africa.
Besides four ports joining the market in 2017, Djibouti is also aiming to add two more ports in 2018 and 2019 with a construction cost of three billion dollars.