Djibouti has granted Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) a 30-year concession to operate and develop the Port of Tadjourah.
The deal with the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) builds on an earlier agreement signed in March and highlights growing maritime and logistics cooperation between Djibouti and Saudi Arabia.
Opened in 2017, the Port of Tadjourah was designed to support development in northern Djibouti and handle potash exports from Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression. It also manages general Ethiopian cargo such as livestock and sesame.
Under the new concession, RSGT plans to upgrade Tadjourah into a regional multi-purpose terminal with an annual capacity of up to five million tonnes. The goal is to make the port a key trade gateway for Ethiopia’s Afar and Tigray regions.
The agreement comes as regional transport integration gains traction. Ethiopia recently unveiled a $1.58 billion railway project to link its northern region to the Red Sea ports of Tadjourah, Assab, and Massawa.
These routes offer Ethiopia’s northern provinces their closest access to the sea, supporting the expansion of potash mining and wider trade activity.
Currently, Tadjourah connects to Ethiopia through the Tadjourah–Balho–Mekelle highway, but the upcoming rail line is expected to improve multimodal links and boost cross-border trade growth in the Horn of Africa.
source: africaports.co.za
