DP World is investing a further USD 90 million to expand its terminal at Angola’s Port of Luanda, in a move that will more than double its design capacity and strengthen the Atlantic port’s role as a gateway to Central African markets.
The Dubai-based ports and logistics group has secured a 10-year extension to its concession to operate Luanda’s multipurpose terminal, taking the agreement through to 2051. The additional investment will be made over the next two years and is aimed at expanding infrastructure, increasing container-handling capacity and enabling the terminal to receive larger vessels.
The expansion will increase the terminal’s design capacity from 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, to 1.2 million TEUs. DP World will extend the quay by 222 metres to 830 metres and add 10 hectares to the operating area, taking the total concession area from 27 to 37 hectares.
Three new ship-to-shore cranes and 12 semi-automated rubber-tyred gantry cranes will also be installed. The equipment will allow the terminal to handle two post-Panamax vessels simultaneously, improving its ability to serve larger container ships and potentially attract additional shipping services to Luanda.
DP World said the expansion is expected to reduce vessel turnaround times by as much as 50%. Faster handling is significant for Angola, where improving logistics infrastructure is central to efforts to diversify an economy that remains heavily dependent on oil.
“The expansion of DP World Luanda is an important milestone both for Angola and for the wider region,” Mohammed Akoojee, chief executive and managing director for Africa at DP World, said.
He said the ability to handle larger vessels would support new shipping services and strengthen Luanda’s potential as a gateway for West and Central Africa.
The investment builds on DP World’s presence in Angola since 2021. The company says it has already invested more than USD 260 million in upgrading and modernising the terminal since it took over operations.
Container volumes handled at the facility have nearly doubled over the past five years, rising from 177,000 TEUs to more than 350,000 TEUs.
The operator has also expanded the terminal’s yard by 28,000 square metres and added two mobile harbour cranes and an empty-container handler in 2026. That has brought the number of mobile harbour cranes to eight and increased refrigerated-container capacity from 630 to 700 plugs.
The latest investment therefore comes as DP World seeks to position Luanda for a larger role in regional trade rather than simply accommodate Angola’s existing cargo flows.
Luanda’s location on Angola’s Atlantic coast gives it strategic importance for trade with the country’s major consumer and resource markets, as well as for land-linked economies farther inland. DP World says the terminal provides connections towards markets including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and other parts of southern and Central Africa.
The port expansion also fits into a broader strategy by DP World to build an integrated logistics network across Africa.
The company operates ports and terminals in 10 African locations and has 35 freight-forwarding offices on the continent, employing about 34,000 people, according to The National. Globally, it operates across six continents.
The Luanda investment comes as DP World steps up spending across emerging markets.
In August, the company announced plans to invest USD 3 billion across Asia, Africa and the UAE, reflecting its strategy of expanding physical infrastructure alongside logistics and freight-forwarding services.
For Angola, the economic case extends beyond container volumes. A more efficient port can lower logistics costs, improve the reliability of imports and exports and make it easier for manufacturers and traders to connect with international markets.
The government has been seeking to reduce the economy’s dependence on crude oil by encouraging agriculture, manufacturing, mining and other non-oil sectors.
For DP World, the longer concession provides greater visibility over the return on its infrastructure investment. The company has described the extension to 2051 as evidence of its long-term commitment to Angola and its ambition to help the country develop into a regional logistics hub.
The investment also gives Luanda a stronger competitive proposition at a time when African ports are attracting growing interest from global operators and Gulf-based logistics companies.
Larger vessels, automated handling equipment and expanded yards are increasingly important as shipping lines seek to improve network efficiency and reduce time spent in port.
The challenge will be converting additional physical capacity into sustained cargo growth. The success of the expansion will depend on Angola’s ability to generate more trade, improve road and inland logistics connections and attract investment into industries that can use the port.
If those conditions develop, the USD 90 million expansion could give Luanda a role beyond serving Angola itself.
By combining greater vessel-handling capacity with DP World’s wider logistics network, the project is designed to make the port a more important link between Angola, Central Africa and global trade routes.