A financing agreement has been announced by World Bank member the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European public works and concessions firm Eiffage for the extension of the Dakar toll road, in Senegal.

The 17 km expansion would require around €130-million to be invested in the project through a 25-year concession contract to design, build, operate and maintain the dual carriageway toll road.

Development of the road would be undertaken by Eiffage’s Senegalese concession company Société Sénégalaise de l'Amiante Ciment (Senac).

This expansion would connect the existing motorway to Dakar’s new international airport and to the seaside tourism areas on the coast, while streamlining the road link between Dakar and Thiès – Senegal’s
second most populous city.

IFC’s total investment in Senac to fund the Dakar toll road would now reach €26-million, after it acted as the lead arranger and global coordinator of a €76-million debt financing package to Senac for the development of the existing road.

An additional €50-million had been mobilised from the Western African Development Bank, the African Development Bank and Senegalese commercial bank the Banking Company of West Africa.

The existing Dakar toll road was inaugurated by Senac in August 2013, becoming the first greenfield toll road public–private partnership in West Africa.

The IFC said in a statement on Tuesday that the 25 km toll road had “markedly” improved urban mobility by reducing commute times between central Dakar and its outlying neighborhoods from over two hours to less than 30 minutes.

“IFC’s financing for the Dakar toll road significantly improves urban mobility and eases the daily commute for tens of thousands of people.

“This new agreement confirms the benefits of collaboration between governments, private sector operators and development institutions to establish the infrastructure projects essential to Africa’s development,” commented IFC Infrastructure in Africa head Bertrand de la Borde.