Djibouti Breaks Ground on Massive FTZ
The president of Djibouti on Monday formally launched the construction of a project touted as Africa's largest free trade zone, to be built in the tiny Horn of African nation with Chinese backing. The agreement to build the 48 sq km (19 sq mile) free trade zone was signed in March 2016 as part of China's bid to expand trade routes, a series of infrastructure initiatives stretching across 60 countries that the Chinese have dubbed "One Belt, One Road". Tiny Djibouti, population 876,000, has long punched above its weight. It hosts large U.S. and French naval bases; China is also building a naval base.
Tanzania: China-Funded Port Work Starts in 2015
Construction of a Chinese-funded port and special economic zone in Tanzania worth at least $10 billion will start in July 2015, the president's office said in a statement on Monday, for the first time setting a start date for the delayed initiative. Tanzania aims to build a huge port at Bagamoyo, 75 km (47 miles) north of commercial capital Dar es Salaam, the site of the country's main port, where shippers complain of congestion and inefficiencies. A construction agreement for the port and associated zone was signed on Sunday and follows a framework deal signed last year.
