IFC has an active investment with LCT, a locally incorporated company that was awarded a 35-year concession by the Government of Togo, with an optional ten-year extension, to develop, construct, and operate a greenfield transshipment container terminal within the Port of Lomé in Togo. Upon final completion, the terminal is expected to have an estimated handling capacity of up to 2.2 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (“TEU”) moves per annum.  The LCT project cost an estimated €353 million (about $415 million). IFC provided senior debt financing of €85.5 million (about $100 million) for its own account and mobilized €170 million (about $200 million) from other lenders. The project is classified as Category A.

In February 2018, CAO received a complaint from the “Mouvement Martin Luther King – La voix des sans voix.” The complaint was signed by six affected individuals who belong to a group of former sand miners and market gardeners. The complainants claim LCT’s operations are negatively impacting them and a larger group of people.

The complainants allege that LCT has not respected its commitments in relation to the project’s Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), particularly with regard to affected groups of market gardeners and sand miners. They claim that the execution of the RAP did not respect the frameworks of the World Bank Group or the other national and international legal frameworks, including the Togolese Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The complainants further claim that the project has impoverished surrounding communities and raised concerns regarding ambient pollution and health impacts on “marine sand drippers” who worked on the site. The complaint also raises labor concerns, particularly regarding hiring practices, dismissals, and wages of lashing operations personnel (“Lashingmen”).

In March 2018, CAO found the complaint eligible and began an assessment of the complaint. During the assessment, the Complainants and the Company agreed to engage in a voluntary dialogue process convened by CAO to try and address the issues raised in the complaint. CAO’s assessment report is available in English and French under the “Case Documents” section below. Following the assessment, CAO has been facilitating a dispute resolution process between the Complainants and the Company.

In March 2023, while the negotiations of a potential draft agreement were ongoing, an internal conflict amongst the Complainants led some of them to leave the mediation process, while the others remained engaged and expressed willingness to sign an agreement with LCT. Since the Complainants who left the mediation were not interested in the CAO Compliance review process, their complaint was closed for the purpose of the CAO process and not transferred to the CAO Compliance function. The mediation process between the Company and the other Complainants continued.

In October 2023, CAO facilitated a joint meeting between the Complainants and the Company, during which the parties reached an agreement. The parties chose to keep the details of the agreement confidential. In accordance with CAO’s policy, the case has now been moved to dispute resolution monitoring.

In August 2024, the CAO team visited Togo to meet with the complainants and the company and verify the status of the agreement implementation. During the visit, many actions were still underway, which were observed and noted. As of January 2025, most of the agreed actions have been successfully implemented. CAO will continue to monitor the implementation of the agreement.