San Pedro (Ivory Coast): creating a symbiosis between the city and the port

(Front page photo: Mr Hilaire Lamizana, Director General of the San Pedro Port Authority © PASP) Port Autonome de San Pedro (PASP) is one of the most important economic infrastructures built in the wake of Côte d’Ivoire’s independence. Construction of the port of San Pedro was part of the integrated development programme launched in the 1960s by the Ivorian Government, to reduce regional disparities by creating a growth hub in the south-west of the country and to serve as a transit port for neighbouring States and regions with no direct access to the sea (Mali, Guinée forestière, eastern Liberia). Today, it exports more cocoa than any other port in the world (over a million tonnes), and is Côte d’Ivoire’s second largest port in terms of goods traffic. PASP works closely with the municipality on all development and spatial planning issues, and is faced with governance challenges owing to the fact that the city is relatively new. A number of inspiring local initiatives are being considered, in line with the “Renewed Governance” goal that forms part of the AIVP 2030 Agenda. So we were keen to talk to the company’s Director General, Hilaire LAMIZANA. Port Autonome de San Pedro has been a member of AIVP since 2002. Panoramic view of the port (© PASP) Participation in the "Ateliers de Cergy" AIVP - The PASP was an active participant in the debate dubbed “From port city to coastal metropolis” during the course of 2020. The debate was organised by the NGO “Ateliers de Cergy”, in conjunction with the municipality of San Pedro and local stakeholders. The idea was to adopt a collective approach to envisioning future urban development, consulting each local stakeholder, from fishing communities to port services. What conclusions did you draw from the “city-port” debate organised with Ateliers de Cergy? Hilaire LAMIZANA, Director General - First of all, I want to thank you for giving PASP, which has been a member of AIVP since 2002, the opportunity to talk about city-port relations. I should point out that the port of San Pedro is a vital infrastructure for growth and development in the south-west of Côte d'Ivoire. Our activities, based on periodic business plans putting into action our master plan for infrastructure development, are consistent with the Ivorian Government’s strategy in the maritime and port sector. However, decades after the port began operating, work often throws up tensions or discord between PASP’s right to develop its activities, and the city’s needs in terms of its own development and improving quality of life for residents. The port of San Pedro is outward-looking and has to contend with increasingly fierce international competition. As such, its development is based around private profitability. The city of San Pedro is growing fast (its current population is estimated at over 300,000, compared with just 40 when it was founded) and urgently needs new housing, infrastructures, and public services, but as part of a different approach, focused on internal requirements. A Port-City roundtable as soon as 2019 (© PASP) Having noted these potential divergences on the one hand, and taking into account the port of San Pedro’s defined role on the other, the Port Authorities have in recent years committed to bringing the two approaches together, to forge a symbiotic relationship between the city and the port. This is judged essential to encouraging businesses to take root locally and promoting a sustainable development process. These commitments are visibly reflected in the ambitions, strategic priorities, general and specific targets, as well as the actions identified under the periodic business plans for 2003-2005, 2007-2009, 2013-2015, and 2017-2022. So well before the Ateliers Cergy in 2020, Port Autonome de San Pedro was already committed to tackling all of the issues raised by the development of the city and port of San Pedro, two entities that represent two sides of the same coin. The Ateliers Cergy were a chance to consolidate and revitalise our…