A 200 km highway between Dakar and Saint-Louis will be built with the help of new funding.
With a €166.36m loan from the African Development Bank, the long-planned project to connect Senegal’s capital city to its center for sugar production and planned hub for offshore gas extraction, Saint Louis, will move forward (AfDB).
In 2019, an AfDB feasibility study said that the whole project would cost $870 million. As of now, and according to the most recent numbers, 37% of the estimated costs of the project have been paid for.
The Islamic Development Bank, which gave $270 million to the project last February, will be the project’s largest lender. The AfDB will be the second largest lender.
The West African Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the OPEC Fund for Development have also said how much money they will give: $41 million, $63 million, and $64.73 million, respectively.
The AfDB will be the second largest lender after the Islamic Development Bank, which pledged $270m last February.
The West African Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the OPEC Fund for Development committed $41m, $63m, and $64.73m correspondingly.
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development are likely to announce their funding for Senegal’s fourth motorway, giving the country 558km of high-speed highways.
In November 2021, Senegal announced $1bn in accords with the American project building firm Bechtel, including the construction of the Dakar-Saint Louis Highway, the installation of 375 traffic signals, the construction of two bridges, and the creation of a digital network for public safety.
Ageroute, a Senegalese state-owned road management firm, will operate the Dakar-Saint Louis Highway and help Bechtel with preliminary design and technical assistance during numerous construction phases.