• BOAD approves $35.7 million to upgrade Burkina Faso–Mali border road
• Project targets 130 km, boosting regional trade and transport links
• Road seen as strategic for security, supply chains, and AES integration

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) on Thursday approved 20 billion CFA francs ($35.7 million) in funding for Burkina Faso to rehabilitate and pave the road linking Bobo-Dioulasso, Orodara, and the Mali border.

The project spans 130 kilometers and aims to improve traffic conditions for road users in Kenedougou province and seven municipalities: Bobo-Dioulasso, Karangasso-Sambla, Kourinion, Orodara, Samogohiri, Kangala, and Koloko.

According to local media, President Ibrahim Traore launched work on this road in April 2024. The project adds to several ongoing initiatives aimed at strengthening links between major urban centers, inland regions, and neighboring countries.

It comes after the launch this week of construction on the Ouagadougou–Bobo-Dioulasso highway. That project is designed to connect the country’s two main economic and demographic centers and improve links with Côte d’Ivoire, a coastal neighbor whose main port plays a key role in Burkina Faso’s imports and exports.

Some analysts believe the link to the Mali border is part of broader efforts to strengthen transport corridors among the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), at a time when trade with certain sub-regional partners has weakened. Since the closure of Niger’s land border with Benin at the end of 2023—previously a major entry point for Niger’s imports—the country has been seeking to reconfigure its supply chains.

Burkina Faso plays a strategic role in this reconfiguration due to its geographic proximity to the ports of Abidjan and Tema, which facilitates supply routes for other alliance member states.

Beyond its economic and logistical impact, the road project also unfolds in a sensitive security context in western Burkina Faso and along border areas. Authorities view improvements in road infrastructure as a lever to strengthen the state’s presence, facilitate the movement of security forces, expand access to public services in remote areas, and enhance monitoring of cross-border corridors.

Henoc Dossa