Port–depot transport is part of the concession. Under the notice’s allocation, the operator-investor finances and operates the locomotives and wagons for the railway phase, while SPAT and the state are responsible for the fixed railway connection.
The notice provides for the depot to operate as a bonded facility with on-site customs clearance from its opening, independently of the railway connection, with road haulage as the reference operating mode until the railway is commissioned.
- SPAT has opened prequalification for an operator-investor to develop and operate an inland container depot at Tsarakofafa, near the Port of Toamasina.
- The depot’s indicative footprint is approximately 10 hectares, about 8 km from the Port of Toamasina.
- SPAT estimates private capital expenditure for design, construction and equipment at €15 million.
- The proposed operating concession is capped at 25 years from commercial operation.
- The railway phase is subject to studies, authorisations and financing, and road haulage is the reference operating mode until the railway is commissioned.
Société du Port à gestion Autonome de Toamasina (SPAT) is progressing plans to develop an inland container depot at Tsarakofafa, approximately 8 km from the Port of Toamasina in Madagascar, with a railway connection envisaged as part of a later development phase.
The proposed depot will cover approximately 10 hectares, with SPAT estimating private capital expenditure of €15 million for its design, construction and equipment. The development will be undertaken through a concession of up to 25 years from the start of commercial operations, with SPAT retaining ownership of the land.
Under the proposed operating arrangements, the concessionaire will also be responsible for transporting containers between the port and the inland depot. Transport operations will initially use a dedicated truck fleet, with a subsequent railway phase subject to the completion of studies, authorisations and financing.
For the railway component, a conditional future phase, the operator-investor will be responsible for financing and operating the locomotives and wagons, while SPAT and the state will be responsible for the fixed infrastructure, including the track connection and signalling. For the first phase, road haulage will remain the reference transport mode until the railway connection is commissioned.
The depot is intended to operate as a bonded facility, with customs clearance available on-site from the start of operations, independently of the railway connection. This will allow customers to collect cleared containers directly from the depot without passing through the port.
SPAT initiated the operator selection process on 28 September 2026 through expression-of-interest notice N° 20-02/AMI/SPAT/PMLP/2026. The process is designed to prequalify companies for a restricted international tender, known by its French abbreviation AORI.
The indicative procurement timetable provides for candidate shortlisting between 29 October and 17 November 2026, followed by contract award and financial close between 7 and 26 April 2027. SPAT retains the right to suspend, modify or cancel the process.
The expression-of-interest deadline was set for 28 October 2026.
