With a record $137 million from the African Development Bank Group and over $110 million mobilised from international partners, the Union of the Comoros is embarking on the most ambitious port modernisation programme in its history.
A $247 million project in total
The African Development Fund (ADF) is granting the Union of the Comoros $135 million as a grant, plus $2 million from the Transition Support Fund, for a total of $137 million. Alongside the AfDB, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, the European Union and the European Investment Bank are co-financing the project with a further $110+ million, bringing the total project value to $247 million — the largest development programme ever undertaken in the archipelago since AfDB's first operations there in 1977.
Moroni and Boingoma at the centre
The project includes construction of 240 metres of new quays at Moroni (Grande Comore) and 136 metres at Boingoma (Mohéli), giving the islands capacity to receive larger vessels. The dual objective: smooth inter-island trade and position the Comoros as a logistic corridor between East Africa and Asia, leveraging their strategic location in the Mozambique Channel.
Beyond physical infrastructure, the project integrates fisheries and agricultural value chain development and plans for the creation of a special economic zone to attract regional investors.
Why it matters
The Comoros import nearly 80% of their food needs and their external trade depends directly on port access. Modern ports mean fewer supply disruptions, lower logistics costs and better-controlled food inflation. For Indian Ocean trade operators, this maritime corridor opens new routes between Zanzibar, Mombasa and the ports of Réunion and Mauritius. At $247 million, this is among the most structurally significant projects in the region this decade.
Source: African Development Bank / Agence Ecofin — 2025-2026