Senegal’s Agency for Works and Road Management (AGEROUTE) has awarded a US$132 million contract to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) for construction work on the 30km Ndande-Gueoul road in the central-west Louga region.

The project duration is 24 months. The contract was tendered in August 2023 and a total of four bids were received.

The Ndande-Gueoul road is part of the US$1.2 billion 200km Dakar-Tivaouane-Saint Louis highway project, which aims to open up access to Senegal’s northern regions and facilitate the development of the agricultural, hydrocarbons, tourism and mining sectors.

The highway is also an important link in the Eurafrican highway, which aims to link Madrid in Spain through Tangier in Morocco to Nouakchott in Mauritania, Dakar in Senegal, Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire and on to Lagos in Nigeria.

The Dakar-Saint Louis project involves the construction of a double dual-lane, 3.5-metre, climate-resilient highway, expandable to 2x3 lanes.

The work has been divided into two sections, the 80km Dakar-Mekhe and 120km Mekhe-Saint Louis segments, which have been further divided into lots.

The 55km Dakar-Tivaoune section is being built by Cote d’Ivoire’s PFO Africa under a US$404.6 million, 36-month contract. Work got underway in February 2023.

The 23km Tivaouane-Mekhe section is being carried out by local Arezki at a cost of US$14 million under a 16-month contract inked in February 2023.

Work on the 6km Tivaouane-Tivaouane East segment including the 6km Tivaouane bypass was awarded to the local Groupe CSE under a US$60 million, 20-month deal.

Section one includes the construction of four interchanges and 32 crossings (14 underpasses and 18 overpasses). The section is being funded by the private sector.

Section two comprises four lots. Lot 1.1 covering the 19km Mekhe-Ndande stretch was awarded in April 2023 to China’s CWE at a cost of US$76.3 million for a contract duration of 24 months.

Lot 1.2 comprises the 30km Ndande-Gueoul road, awarded to CRBC. Work on lots 2 and 3 covering the 15km Gueoul-Louga route, and the 41km Louga-Gandon/Saint Louis Sud stretch respectively has yet to be awarded.

Lot 4 was awarded to Morocco’s Houar under a US$63.9 million and 20-month contract, and concerns the 11km Gandon-Saint Louis Nord road.

Four interchanges and 81 crossings (68 underpasses and 13 overpasses) will be built under section two of the highway, which is being funded by the public sector, along with the improvement of 50km of rural roads and the construction of 8km of urban roads.

Once built, the Dakar-Tivaouane-Saint Louis highway is expected to be concessioned to a private sector operator, which will be responsible for covering maintenance and repair costs.

The main areas that will be served by the highway are the regions of Dakar and Thies as well as the departments of Saint-Louis, Kebemer and Louga. The area hosts just under half of the country’s population.

The project owner for the Dakar-Tivaouane-Saint Louis highway is the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening Up (MITTD) acting through AGEROUTE.

In late April, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), an Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member, signed an insurance agreement with France's Societe Generale for the €259 million (US$278.4 million) murabaha financing facility for the Dakar-Tivaouane section of the highway and another road project.

Various development agencies are providing financial support for the Dakar-Saint Louis highway. These include the African Development Bank (AfDB); the IsDB; the West African Development Bank (BOAD); the Opec Fund for International Development; the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED); the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA); the Saudi Development Fund (SDF); and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).