Senegal’s Agency for Works and Road Management (AGEROUTE) is inviting bids for more work on the US$203.9 million Senoba-Ziguinchor-Mpack road project. The route is part of the National Road 4 (RN4) and runs from Senoba on Senegal’s northern border with The Gambia down to Mpack on the southern border with Guinea-Bissau.

The RN4 forms part of the Dakar-Lagos Trans-African Highway 7 corridor and its rehabilitation is expected to contribute to the revival of tourism in the Casamance region, the reduction of agricultural losses, and the strengthening of trade and sub-regional integration.

AGEROUTE has invited proposals by 11 June for the construction of socio-economic infrastructure as part of the overall scheme in the localities of Ziguinchor, Bignona and Bounkling. The tender can be viewed here.

The contract involves work on 10 classrooms, school canteens, four health centres, four training centres, seven markets, four motor parks, a parking area for heavy-duty vehicles, six market gardening areas and 1.5km of enclosures.

The Senoba-Ziguinchor-Mpack road project comprises the rehabilitation of 165km of roads in asphalt concrete, including 13km of roads surfaced with paving stones in Bounkiling, Bignona and Ziguinchor.

Senoba-Ziguinchor-Mpack road map

Source: AfDB project appraisal report, 2018

The construction work has been divided into three lots. The Senoba-PK40 section, including 4km of road at Bounkiling, was awarded to the local Arezki in July 2021 for US$24 million. The PK40-PK80 (Oulampane) section, including 8km of roads in Bignona, awarded to China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG), which started work in January 2022. And the PK80 (Oulampane)-Ziguinchor-Mpack segment was awarded to China’s Zhejiang Communications Construction Group, which began work in April 2021.

The project also includes the improvement and asphalting of 52km of the Kalounayes loop, comprising the 27km Tobor-Ouonk, 15km Ouonk-Dieba and 10km Dieba-RN4 access roads, in addition to the paving of 1km of roads in Coubanao. CRSG undertook the work over a period of 24 months under US$29 million contract. The upgraded roads were officially inaugurated in January 2024.

Some 100km of rural feeder roads are also being upgraded under the project. A US$4.3 million, 12-month contract was awarded to China’s Sinohydro to upgrade the 23km Tenghory-Kounabano and 26km Tobor-Niamone-Colomba roads in July 2021.

According AGEROUTE, work on the overall roadworks had reached 73% completion as of mid-April.

The project owner is the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Road Access (MITTD), acting through AGEROUTE.

The scheme is being jointly financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the EU and the government of Senegal.