Dakar port improvements touted

Progress on improvements to the Port of Dakar is being made according to its Director General, Bara Sady. Security in particular has improved, he says. Navigation has improved at the entrance, exit and through a functional lighting system. Procedures for access to the port are better controlled. Tariffs and connections with the inland hinterland have been improved, he says. Dakar is a favored port for Mali and other inland areas. The Autonomous Port of Dakar has been modernizing since early 2006 and intends to become "a first-class hub of the maritime routes," according to Mr. Sady.

Iron ore mining setback

ArcelorMittal, the world largest steel producer, has suspended development of its iron ore project in Faleme, Senegal, due to the global economic recession, according to news reports from company sources.

The proposed $2.2 billion (1.6 billion euros) project in the south-east of the country was to start producing iron ore for the steel industry in 2011 and ultimately reach a production capacity estimated at 25 million tonnes per year. The project, with a new port and railway line, would create 10,000 jobs in Senegal.