The Trans-Saharan Highway extends from Lagos to Algiers, connecting West Africa with North Africa. This road, which is 9,400 kilometers long, is essential for the emergence of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The African Development Fund, as the preferential lending window of the African Development Bank Group, is one of the key donors.
Traffic movement at the border is currently on the rise in Niger, which is the point of connection between North Africa and West Africa, following the construction of the Farie Bridge.
The construction of the Trans-Saharan Highway in Niger is progressing well, with 1,890 kilometers of the total length of approximately 1,950 kilometers already prepared, which represents 97% of the work completed.
Regarding related works around and along the Farie Bridge on the Niger River, wells are being drilled and equipped, and integrated schools and health centers of a high standard are being built, complete with playgrounds. The timeline for completing all remaining activities (roads and related works) is 12 months.
This project has been designed in an inclusive and integrated manner, with the aim of enhancing the resilience of the local population in the project area. The related works represent about 20% of the total project, aiming to contribute to improving the lives of people in the project area. The project has allowed the construction of 18 wells, including 14 wells on the Arlit-Asmaka road, 16 classrooms with offices, water wells equipped with solar panels, rest areas, animal loading and unloading stations, 190 lighting poles, and other facilities. These investments, amounting to 4.98 million USD (2.5 billion CFA francs), are still ongoing in the municipalities of Gouthi and Kouthi.
The African Development Fund holds the leading position in financing the Trans-Saharan Highway. The fund’s share currently amounts to 119.32 million USD, which is 68.14% of the total project cost in Niger, which is 175.10 million USD. The intervention of the Bank Group is specifically justified by the project’s compliance with its long-term strategy for the period 2013-2022, which aims, among other things, to provide reliable and affordable infrastructure for electricity and transportation, within the framework of inclusive growth. The Trans-Saharan Highway is one of the main corridors across Africa that the African Union Commission advocates as the backbone of the continent’s development.
Algeria has allocated a financial package of 30,000 billion centimes (2.6 billion USD) for the Trans-Saharan Highway, to overcome the isolation imposed by geography on some countries.
This project, also known as the “African Unity Road,” has been planned for decades, but its works faced significant delays due to the security situations in the participating countries, before the works were resumed.
During a meeting of the Trans-Saharan Highway Contact Committee with the ministers of the member countries and international funding institutions, an agreement was reached to create an entity responsible for managing the road corridor.
Algeria aims, through the completion of the road, to facilitate direct access to the main ports on the Mediterranean to enhance trade between Africa and Europe, and emphasized the importance of mobilizing the necessary financing and investments for completing the infrastructure and maintaining what has already been accomplished of this Trans-Saharan Highway.