• US$150 million from the African Development Bank and US$125 million from EIB Global, guaranteed by the European Union, to modernise Mauritania’s main railway corridor
• The landmark project will expand and rehabilitate the Zouerate–Nouadhibou line, strengthen Mauritania’s competitiveness, support green growth, and boost regional integration.
• A joint operation aligned with the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy and Mauritania’s industrial development priorities

Mauritania is set to receive a transformative boost for its legendary “desert train,” thanks to a landmark $275 million agreement signed on the sidelines of the 2025 Africa Investment Forum between the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the national mining company SNIM. The corporate financing package—granted without any state guarantee—marks a significant milestone for the country’s mining infrastructure while advancing the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy.

The funding offers a breath of fresh air to one of the world’s longest and heaviest trains, the crucial lifeline connecting the iron ore mines of Zouérate to the port of Nouadhibou. The deal provides $150 million from the AfDB and $125 million from EIB Global, the development arm of the EIB, backed by the European Union. According to AfDB Group President Sidi Ould Tah, this non-sovereign financing structure reflects the institution’s determination to scale up private-sector investments in strategic value chains, as the loans are extended directly to SNIM on the strength of its own balance sheet.

SNIM’s CEO, Mohamed Vall Mohamed Telmidy, emphasized that modernizing the company’s logistics chain is a key pillar of its strategic program and vital for achieving its production targets. Beyond the rehabilitation of heavily worn tracks, the project also aims to expand the network by constructing 42 kilometers of new railway lines to connect future mining sites at El Aouj and Atomai. The investment will further enable the purchase of modern locomotives, wagons, and advanced maintenance equipment, with the overarching goals of increasing export capacity, improving reliability, and reducing fuel consumption across the 700-kilometer corridor.

This initiative is also being positioned as a flagship example of the EU’s Global Gateway vision, offering high-quality, sustainable alternatives to other development partners’ initiatives. European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela highlighted the project’s ability to link Mauritania’s mining heartland to global markets, creating local growth, jobs, and sustainable development.

Finally, EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle framed it as a concrete outcome of renewed EU-Africa cooperation following the recent AU-EU summit in Luanda. Environmental considerations also feature prominently, as modernizing rail transport—significantly less carbon-intensive than road transport—is seen as a pathway to greener, more inclusive growth. AfDB Vice President for the Private Sector, Solomon Quaynor, noted that the project strengthens Mauritania’s competitiveness, supports the energy transition, and fosters local job creation.

Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM) is a Mauritanian company that operates in the research, exploitation, processing, transport, and export of iron ore. Its deposits are located in the Tiris Zemour region in northern Mauritania. SNIM fully manages its chain of operations. It owns and operates a railway line, over 700 km long, mainly used for the transport of iron ore. With more than 60 years of experience in the mining sector, SNIM is a real engine of the Mauritanian economy.

Idriss Linge