Planning and Design of a Regional Delivery Hub for the Next Generation of Bulk Carrier Vessels in West Africa

West African bloc has significant, untapped mineral deposits (bauxite, iron ore, gold, etc.). The exploitation of these resources has, in the past, been hampered by, amongst other things, the lack of adequate port facilities and hinterland connections. The individual countries of the West African bloc have been discouraged from investing in "bulk export terminals" mostly due to the capital outlay required. In order to lessen the capital burden on the individual countries to build their own "bulk export terminals" and to realise the benefits of the mineral resources, there is a significant case that the West African bloc of countries should pull together financial resources (based on a simple and clear funding, and ownership model) to develop a 400 MTPA regional delivery hub. The proposed delivery hub would have a catchment with seaward frontage extending from Nigeria to Mauritania, mainly servicing the iron ore sector. This paper summarises a postgraduate research into the provision of the port facility to meet the demands for the mineral resource of West Africa. It presents an overview of the associated planning and design, including the range of sizes of appropriate bulk carrier vessels, possible port options, throughput analysis, proposed port infrastructure, port operations, bulk material handling and stockpile requirements, hinterland connections and key project challenges for such a terminal.