Dubai-based ports operator DP World has signed a 20-year concession agreement to build and operate a 1,000-hectare logistics hub outside of Bamako, the capital and largest city of Mali.

The concession agreement carries an automatic 20-year extension, DP World said in a statement.

The first phase of the project will require an estimated $50m in investment. It entails the construction of  an inland container depot and container freight station facility that will facilitate the import and export of goods.

Construction is expected to start in 2019 and take approximately 18 months.

The Mali Logistics Hub will be located on the main road corridor from Dakar, Senegal to Bamako, and close to the Dakar-Bamako rail line. It will be capable of handling 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 4 million tonnes of bulk and general cargo.

DP World said it will also provide the Mali government with three locomotive trains to boost cargo and passenger traffic along the Bamako-Dakar rail system.

DP World reported a 4.8 per cent increase in volume across its global portfolio for the first half of 2018 compared to the same period a year ago. The firm operates 78 ports globally.