• Gabon, France, EU sign €203M deal to modernize Transgabonais railway
  
• Project upgrades 648 km line, boosts safety and capacity to 16 trains/day
  
• Funded by €173M French loan, €30M EU grant under Global Gateway strategy

Gabon, France, and the European Union signed an agreement Monday for a €203 million ($234 million) program to modernize and secure the Transgabonais railway. The agreement was announced in a statement released during French President Emmanuel Macron's official visit to Libreville.

The funding package consists of a 173-million-euro sovereign loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) and a 30 million euro grant from the European Union.

The primary goal of the program is to improve the reliability and safety of the 648-kilometer line connecting Libreville to Franceville. The investments will address unstable sections, upgrade critical infrastructure, and increase the network's capacity to up to 16 train paths per day, or eight trains in each direction.

The project also includes modernizing passenger stations and strengthening the institutional capacities of the state and SETRAG, the railway network operator.

According to the AFD, these improvements are expected to facilitate the transport of goods to the port of Owendo and support key sectors of the Gabonese economy. They will also help open up landlocked regions in the country's interior.

France remains Gabon's leading supplier, accounting for 25% of its market, according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The new program follows a previous rehabilitation program launched in 2016 with AFD support. It is also part of the European Union's Global Gateway strategy, which aims to fund sustainable infrastructure in Africa.

Ingrid Haffiny