Senegal: African Development Bank invests more than €166 million in the construction of a highway to connect the north of the country | African Development Bank

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a €166.36 million loan to Senegal for the construction of the Dakar-Tivaouane-Saint Louis highway, which will improve access to the north of the country.

The funding includes €119.69 million from the African Development Bank and €46.67 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund, a facility sponsored by the People’s Bank of China.

Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, acting vice president for regional development and business delivery of the African Development Bank, said: “The Dakar-Tivaouane-Saint Louis Highway Construction Project will open access to the northern regions, which are considered the breadbasket of Senegal in terms of rice cultivation, as well as an area with high mining potential, it will contribute to the implementation of the government’s strategy to process agricultural products and thereby substantially reduce transportation costs”.

The project involves the construction of a climate-resilient two-lane dual carriageway that can be upgraded to a three-lane dual carriageway over a distance of 200 kilometres. It includes the construction of 8 interchanges and 113 pedestrian crossings (including 82 underpasses and 31 overpasses); construction of 50 kilometers of secondary roads and 8 kilometers of internal roads with solar public lighting in the municipalities of Mékhé, Guéoul and Kébémer; development and/or rehabilitation of social and commercial infrastructure; and measures to protect the highway against sand erosion by planting 2×2 rows of trees on both sides of the highway over a distance of 200 km.

It also includes the construction and/or rehabilitation of social infrastructure, including three health centers and/or health posts, and a building for a health sciences research laboratory at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis. Commercial infrastructure, including three bus stations, will also be built or renovated. All of these will be powered by photovoltaics.

The main areas served by the project are the regions of Dakar and Thiès, as well as the departments of Saint-Louis, Kébémer and Louga. The area has a population of nearly 7 million (2019 figures), or 42.76% of the country’s total population.

As of July 31, 2022, the African Development Bank Group’s active portfolio in Senegal comprised 29 operations with a total value of €2.3 billion.