To sum up

The Port of Cotonou and the City of Cotonou have developed an innovative project that strengthens the connection between global maritime trade and local economic and social activities. By transforming an area affected by the negative impacts of port operations, the project improves working conditions and quality of life for port truck drivers and the women entrepreneurs who provide them with food and other services.

At the heart of the initiative, the Cantine du Port provides an improved setting for food preparation and services, creating better conditions for local women entrepreneurs while meeting truck drivers’ everyday needs. Artistic interventions, including murals on the port’s perimeter walls, enhance the urban environment and contribute to a more positive relationship between the port and the city. The Zongo lorry park improves logistical efficiency, road safety, and drivers’ working conditions thanks to modern facilities and automated access control. Together, these improvements generate tangible social and economic benefits through targeted interventions.

Design by: China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) – COBLOC Architecture – SCACU – SARA CONSULT – CGTS – KOFFI et DIABATE- ARTS AND CULTURE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.
Artists, we have: AFZAN-DAGEGNON-DANIELA GUERRIEIRO-DRAGON- KOBRA

Outstanding features:

• An integrated approach to the city-port relationship: the project is based on three complementary strands – logistics, social and cultural;
• The Zongo car park, covering an area of 13 hectares and with capacity for 750 heavy goods vehicles, enables better organisation of lorry parking, helping to relieve congestion on key urban routes and improve the quality of urban life;
• The Cantine du Port improves working conditions for female traders by providing them with a safe, clean environment equipped with essential services. It also serves as a local facility for drivers and port workers;
• Promoting maritime and port identity amongst citizens through the creation of murals;
• A partnership-based governance model that closely involves port and urban stakeholders.

Why was it selected as a finalist ?

The Cotonou project addresses a major challenge for working ports worldwide: the coexistence of intensive logistics activities with the people who depend on them for their livelihoods. By focusing on truck drivers and local women entrepreneurs, it demonstrates how relatively modest investments can improve working conditions, support local economic activity and strengthen the port-city relationship. The project also illustrates the value of international knowledge-sharing and cooperation, notably through collaboration with the Port of Antwerp. Its approach offers potential for replication in other port cities, particularly where road freight transport plays a central role in port logistics.

By combining social inclusion, local economic development and improvements to the port-city interface, the initiative embodies the principles of the AIVP Agenda 2030. It demonstrates that even targeted interventions can deliver meaningful benefits for communities while fostering a more inclusive relationship between ports and cities.

Images of the project

About the Port of Cotonou

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