THE WHARF OR "GRAND QUAI"

Poor wharf: built in 1950 and delivered a year later, it only shone for two decades, since once the port of San Pedro came into service in 1971, Sassandra lost its vocation as the country's second largest commercial port. After the Grand-Bassam wharf and the harbour of Grand-Lahou, it is the third major pier erected in Côte d'Ivoire, and the only one still standing in the whole of West Africa, although it was officially closed in 1972. Flowing from peaceful old days, the venerable structure, deprived of one of its sections for several years, occupies a central position in the bay of Sassandra and the lives of its inhabitants: the seat of a picturesque market located near its bait, a playground for children, an improvised DPC (Fish Concentration Device) for fishermen with its marine ecosystems fixed around the old pylons, and a strong identity symbol of the city and its history. In March 2017, the Japanese cooperation announced the start of work on the construction of a modern fishing port in the bay, which will include a petrol station for fishermen, fish and fish product storage stores, cold rooms and... a new landing stage. In theory, the wharf should therefore be given a new lease of life, and the fishermen of this region with its reputedly generous waters should be able to take better advantage of this important economic resource, but the project has been delayed.