Dakar has signed with the African Development Bank (AfDB) a loan agreement to build the Rosso bridge which will connect Senegal to Mauritania.

The bridge will close the 1,461 linear metres gap separating Mauritania from Senegal. The gap is explained by the presence of River Senegal. AfDB’s loan which is estimated at about CFA26.7 billion represents 46.5% of the project’s total cost, that is CFA57.5 billion (€87.6 million).

Along the infrastructure’s construction, various structures will be developed to facilitate transport and trade. By developing this project, Senegal hopes to boost people and goods traffic between the two sides and reduce time needed to pass from one to the other.

River Senegal, a natural border between Mauritania and Senegal at Rosso, has for a long time hindered exchanges between the two nations.

Building the Rosso bridge is part of the Plan Senegal Elergent (PSA). Since 2014, AfDB has financially supported the government, disbursing overall CFA289 billion in the framework of this programme. This equals 72% of the CFA400 billion it promised.

Claude Biao