The longstanding project, which will connect Senegal’s capital city to its centre for sugar production, and planned hub for offshore gas exploitation, Saint Louis, will move forward with a €166.36m loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). In 2019, a feasibility study by the AfDB estimated the project’s total cost at $870m. For the moment and according to the latest figures, 37% of the project’s estimated costs are covered. The project entails construction of a climate-resilient two-lane dual carriageway upgradable to a three-lane dual carriageway over a distance of 200 kilometres. It will also entail construction and/or rehabilitation of social infrastructure, including three health centres and/or health posts, and a health sciences research laboratory building at the Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis. Commercial infrastructure, including three bus stations, will also be built or rehabilitated. All of these will be powered by solar photovoltaic energy.
