The Port Autonome de Dakar (PAD) achieved an exceptional performance in 2024, ranking as the leading container port in sub-Saharan Africa according to the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) published by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. With a score rising from -82 in 2023 to +23 in 2024, the PAD recorded "one of the strongest increases in the world," marking a spectacular rise that bears the mark of the Director General, Mr. Waly Diouf Bodiang, appointed in May 2024. This ranking, which measures the total time spent by ships between their arrival at anchor and their departure from the quay, excludes terminals specializing in bulk, hydrocarbons, or passengers. "The repositioning of the Port Autonome de Dakar, launched in February 2024 by the Director General, Mr. Waly Diouf Bodiang, has just achieved major recognition," underlines the press release from the PAD's Strategic Communication Unit.

This improvement is attributed to major investments since 2008 by the operator DP World: new cranes, expansion of storage areas and a modern port community system. It is reinforced by advances in land connectivity, such as road modernization, the rehabilitation of the railway to Mali and a single customs window reducing delays. At the African level, Dakar is positioned behind Port Said (Egypt, 3rd worldwide), Tanger-Med (Morocco, 5th worldwide) and Mogadishu (Somalia, 163rd worldwide), but ahead of Toamasina (Madagascar, 177th worldwide), El Dekheila (Egypt, 190th worldwide), Sokhna (Egypt, 217th worldwide), Freetown (Sierra Leone, 216th worldwide), Conakry (Guinea, 235th worldwide) and Berbera (Somalia, 243rd worldwide). "The Autonomous Port of Dakar experienced a first half of 2025 of considerable logistical and financial performance", with net achievements of 42.11 billion FCFA (+16% compared to 2024) and traffic of 6.92 million tonnes (+24%), despite monetary tightening and geopolitical tensions.

This visionary leadership materialized with the validation of the Repositioning Plan and the new organizational chart during the Board of Directors meeting on September 18, chaired by Professor Mouhamadou Ngounda Mboup. The plan, adopted after an inclusive process, will be the "company's compass for the next five years," including the payment of bonuses and the support of temporary and fixed-term contracts. On the same day, the election of staff representatives, the first since 2006, took place smoothly with five lists (SATPAD, SNTPS, SMPAD, SYNACEMPOS and SYNACEMPOS FC), strengthening social dialogue through institutionalized monthly meetings. The PAD, an economic pillar generating 95% of customs revenue (25% of the state budget), is confirmed as the national port authority in the National Port Strategy validated in July in Saly (Decree 2023-353). He acts as the coordinator of port clusters, driving force behind a regional maritime hub aligned with Vision Senegal 2050, and leading the modernization efforts, including the Ndayane project. In less than two years, Bodiang has injected "new and promising energy" to reposition the PAD as a key hub in Africa, serving the Senegalese economy.