China Harbour Engineering and the government of São Tomé e Príncipe have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a deep sea port through a PPP model.

The project, which will be developed in three phases, involves the design and construction of a deep sea trans-shipment port to serve the logistics needs of the Gulf of Guinea. 

The total project investment is estimated at US$800 million. According to sources, China Harbour Engineering has plans to invest a total of US$120 million in the project.

The new facilities are scheduled to be fully operational by 2019, but the first phase of the project is set to be completed by 2018.

São Tomé and Príncipe  is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about 140 km apart and about 250 km and 225 km, respectively, off the northwestern coast of Gabon.