January 10 - GAC has opened a new office in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo.

GAC Shipping and Logistics Congo Sarl will provide ship agency, husbandry and freight forwarding services for customers operating in the Congo, as well as providing additional support for GAC's customers in Angola.

The new office has been opened in response to a growing number of port calls in the waters of the Republic of the Congo and is an important expansion of GAC Group's operations across West Africa.

Having a frontline presence in the Republic of the Congo is very important to GAC's customers operating across the region. The Group's 13 years of experience in neighbouring Angola and highly experienced staff and strong synergies there, put it in a good position to extend its global network to the Republic of the Congo.

The country is becoming increasingly important as a location for shipping and logistics operations, as the patterns of global trade and increased infrastructure investment shift across Africa.

GAC's team in Congo is led by Rene Vila , a well-known figure with more than 30 years of experience in the country's shipping and logistics industry. The General Manager is Gerrit Laubscher , also General Manager of GAC Angola.

The port of Pointe Noire plays a very important role in facilitating trade both to the Congo and to the Angolan province of Cabinda. As it lacks port facilities for large vessels, Cabinda relies on Pointe Noire for the handling of cargoes required by the burgeoning Angolan oil, gas and construction industries. As such, not only will the new GAC office benefit customers in the Congo, it will also deliver enhanced shipping and logistics services in Angola.

GAC Shipping and Logistics Congo is a joint venture with Davy Lebosso , a highly experienced logistics operator and long-standing local partner of GAC.

www.gac.com