Mindelo, Cabo Verde, 20 June 2025 (Lusa) - Cabo Verde will inaugurate a cruise terminal in Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, on Saturday, "a significant step for economic and tourism development," announced the archipelago's public port company, Enapor.
The first terminal in Cabo Verde will get improved conditions for receiving cruise ships and began construction in 2022 by a Portuguese-Cabo Verdean consortium made up of the companies Mota-Engil and Empreitel Figueiredo.
Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva has pointed to the infrastructure as a reinforcement of the position already assumed by the island of São Vicente “in the cruise tourism segment”, allowing it to receive more stopovers and larger vessels - in addition to facilities for tourists, as it has a 400 metre long and 20 metre wide quay.
“I am certain that the [neighbouring] island of Santo Antão will also benefit from this investment by the Government of Cabo Verde,” said the head of government during a visit to the terminal works in 2024.
The terminal can accommodate two cruise ships simultaneously and up to 6,000 passengers, and is equipped with customs, transit areas, security and border control, along with public spaces that will provide a stage for everyday events in the city of Mindelo.
The project was designed by Portuguese architect Luís Pedro Silva.
The cruise sector has been growing and, in the 2023/24 season, the ports of Cabo Verde received 220 ships and nearly 91,000 passengers, “with Porto Grande (Mindelo) receiving the largest number of stopovers,” according to Enapor, which will therefore benefit from a brand new terminal.
The terminal work was awarded for around €26 million, co-financed by the ORIO Fund of the Netherlands and the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund for International Development.
The investment was also included in the European Union’s Global Gateway package for Cabo Verde, announced in September 2024, with €300 million earmarked for the coming years.
Tourism is the driving force behind the Cabo Verdean economy and the government is seeking to diversify its offering.
Historically, the sun and beach segment has attracted most tourists (1.2 million guests in 2024) to the resorts on the two islands of Sal and Boa Vista.
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