The Autonomous Port of Abidjan (PAA) hosted a meeting which could well redraw the contours of the collaboration between it and the national cement industry. It is indeed under the sign of a frank and constructive dialogue that Kassoum Traoré welcomed the delegation of the Association of Cement Producers of Côte d'Ivoire (APCCI), testifying to a strong institutional desire to make the port of Abidjan a lever of competitiveness for the country's strategic industrial sectors. This hearing is part of the permanent consultation policy that the PAA maintains with stakeholders in its port community and economic operators. 

Like the discussions held in January 2023 with the LafargeHolcim group, the PAA confirms its vocation as an institutional partner of reference for the cement industry, a large part of whose traffic passes through its infrastructures, as evidenced by the construction of a CimIvoire grinding plant directly in the port area. During the meeting, discussions covered several subjects of common interest relating to the activities of the cement sector, clinker import logistics, terminal management, transit times, as well as the prospects for strengthening collaboration between the PAA and manufacturers in the sector. Prestige Ciment, of which Yvan Zarka is Deputy General Manager, was at the forefront of this delegation, a sign of the commitment of the private sector in this co-construction process.

At a time when the Ivorian cement market is undergoing a profound restructuring, with in particular the official launch of Dangote Cement's operations in Ivory Coast since the end 2025, this rapprochement between the PAA and the APCCI appears to be a structured response to competitiveness challenges. By consolidating port synergies, local producers are giving themselves the means to preserve their market shares while contributing to Côte d'Ivoire's industrial development ambitions.