• Parliament approves €140 million (about $165 million) IsDB financing

• Funds to pave 53-km Mali–Gadalougué road and related infrastructure

• Project ties into wider Guinea–Senegal corridor backed by AfDB

Guinea’s authorities on Feb. 25 ratified a €140 million financing agreement, about $165.3 million, signed with the Islamic Development Bank to build the 53-kilometer Mali–Gadalougué road.

The funding, approved by the lender in June 2025, will support the upgrading and paving of the stretch into a two-lane highway built to ECOWAS standards. The project also includes 10 kilometers of urban roads and several social infrastructure components: five boreholes for drinking water, four market sheds, 2,000 meters of fencing, two health centers and one primary school.

The road forms part of a broader regional corridor designed to strengthen connectivity between Guinea and Senegal. The corridor also benefits from African Development Bank support. In November 2024, the AfDB approved an $80.93 million loan to the two countries for works on the Labé–Mali–Kédougou–Fongolembi axis.

According to the AfDB, the corridor is expected to deepen subregional integration and boost trade flows between Guinea and Senegal. The infrastructure will facilitate the movement of agricultural, forestry and mining products while improving resilience for communities along the route.

Over time, the corridor is also expected to provide Malian transporters with an alternative route to access the port of Conakry, complementing the Dakar–Bamako corridor through Kédougou in southern Senegal.

Henoc Dossa