The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved a €70.34 million loan to Burkina Faso to finance the Transport Sector Support Project in Abidjan on 10 December 2025.
This financing from the African Development Bank Group's concessional window aims to accelerate the opening up of the interior of the country and strengthen sub-regional integration and the resilience of populations in the West African country. It supplements financing from other multilateral banks and development institutions, namely the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The government of Burkina Faso will also contribute.
The Fund's support will be used, in particular, to finance part of the cost of the machinery and equipment needed to set up five emergency road maintenance teams in the Ouahigouya, Ziniaré, Kaya, Dori and Fada N'Gourma regions, and the costof road maintenance work during the project implementation phase, which is scheduled to run until 2030. The funding will also be used to rehabilitate and build offices, garages and workshops equipped with maintenance and repair equipment and materials, based on an order of priority.
The project aims to open up the territory, preserve the road network and build the resilience of the people of Burkina Faso. The areas covered are characterised by significant agropastoral potential and rich cultural diversity.
"The transport sector in Burkina Faso ranks first in the African Development Bank Group's public investment portfolio. By participating in this project, the African Development Fund is strengthening the Bank Group's leadership in transport infrastructure development in the country. The project is consistent with the Bank's special initiative for the Sahel, which aims to connect countries in the region, build peace and accelerate development," said Mike Salawou, Director of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department at the African Development Bank Group.
The Bank's Director General for West Africa, Lamin Barrow, noted that "the project is part of a dynamic process of developing internal and external connectivity, creating jobs and improving access to basic social services and markets, particularly for vulnerable populations. It thus aims to strengthen the resilience of populations and the structural transformation of the economy in line with the objective of the Bank's Interim Country Strategy Paper for Burkina Faso 2022-2026."
