The government of Burkina Faso has officially launched the project to rehabilitate the Bobo-Dioulasso-Banfora-Cote d’Ivoire border and build the Banfora-Orodara roads (PReBBO), located in the Hauts-Bassins and Cascades regions on the borders with Cote d'Ivoire and Mali.

The scheme was launched during a technical workshop held in Ouagadougou in mid-December. Construction work has yet to be awarded.

The PReBBO project involves upgrading and reinforcing the 155km Bobo-Dioulasso-Banfora-Cote d’Ivoire border road as well as constructing the 42km Banfora-Orodara ramp, which is part of the Bobo-Dioulasso-Banfora-Mali border road, also known as Community Road CU7B.

Additionally, the 100-metre-long bridge spanning the Leraba River, which connects Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire will be modernised and split into two lanes. Moreover, 8km of roads will be built in Bobo-Dioulasso, 10km of roads will be paved in five municipalities and 50km of rural track will be constructed, along with a weighing/tolling station at Peni.

The Bobo-Dioulasso-Banfora-Cote d'Ivoire border road is one of the major axes in southwestern Burkina Faso used by people and goods coming mainly from the Port of Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire and for the evacuation of agricultural and industrial products from the Hauts-Bassins and Cascades regions.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Banfora-Orodara ramp is expected to help reduce transport costs and times for goods from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, as well as increase cross-border trade between countries in the region.

In mid-June 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure through the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Sector Programme (SP-PST) issued calls for expressions of interest (EoI) from consultants to update the studies and supervise works on the road sections. The submission deadline was 12 July.

The execution period for consultancy services for the Bobo-Dioulasso-Banfora section is 26 months. For the Banfora-Orodara road, the services are planned to be implemented over 20 months

Previously, in April 2024, the SP-PST invited prequalification applications for the construction works on the road sections. The final deadline for submissions was 18 June. The expected duration of the works for Lot 1 is 24 months and Lot 2 18 months, including rainy seasons.

The PReBBO project has an overall cost of US$267 million and is being financed by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the EU, the Burkina Faso government and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

In late November 2024, the AfDB approved an €83 million loan to Burkina Faso for the PReBBO scheme. The bank also sanctioned a €73.7 million loan to neighbouring Mali for work on a road connecting the country to Cote d’Ivoire. The two schemes have been grouped together under phase 1 of the multinational Community Road Interconnection and Transport Facilitation Programme. 

The funding will enable the Malian authorities to upgrade and asphalt the 45km Bougouni-Garalo section under Lot 1 of the 119km Bougouni-Garalo-Manankoro-Cote d'Ivoire border road scheme. The route is part of the Bamako-Bougouni-Odienne-San Pedro corridor, which connects landlocked Mali’s capital city Bamako to Cote d’Ivoire’s Port of San Pedro.

The general objective of the project is to ensure the opening up of Mali internally and externally and to facilitate regional mobility in the West African region. Specifically, the scheme aims to facilitate a permanent road link between Mali and Cote d’Ivoire’s Port of San Pedro.

The government of Mali is also looking to upgrade and asphalt the 37km Garalo-Foulalaba section of the border route under Lot 2 and the 32km Foulalaba-Manankoro-Cote d'Ivoire section under Lot 3.  The West African Development Bank (BOAD), IsDB and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) are undertaking due diligence to begin financing arrangements for these sections as well as the planned joint border control posts  (JBCP) at Manankoro.

In addition, 10km of urban roads will be developed in the Bougouni, Garalo and Manankoro areas along with 90km of rural roads. The project will be executed by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

Both the Burkina Faso and Mali road projects are set to become effective by May and be completed by December 2030. Together, their area of direct influence covers a large-scale agro-pastoral zone where agriculture is combined with livestock-related activities and which is home to a population of 4.5 million, or 6.3% of the three countries’ total population.

Top photo: Burkina Faso road construction (Source: Facebook @ Burkinabe Ministry of Infrastructure)