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Niger / Benin: Extension of the Railway network to meet growth
Niamey and Cotonou have decided to join their forces in financing series of technical studies, economic and environmental impact of the rehabilitation and the extension of the railway between Cotonou-Parakou-Dosso. This railway project, in its initial phase, should be controlled by a Joint Benin-Niger Railway and Transport Unified company (OCBN), operated by both states. The governments of Benin and Niger have decided to grant the operation of the railway network of the OCBN and its trade dependencies in Niger by mean of an international offer call.
This process will be held by a private partner who has a good financial base and a proven experience in the railway management to ensure the extension of the rail to Niger.
Unfortunately and after two unsuccessful attempts in 2005 and 2008, this concession is not yet effective. Meanwhile, the total traffic transiting by the Benin to Niger continues to grow, passing from 1.041253 tonnes in 2005 to over 1.9 million tonnes in 2009. This traffic will have a significant growth with the development of the major mining and petroleum potential of the Niger, as well as the agricultural development in northern Benin, where the existing network with its current configuration of 438 km only cannot meet the current and future traffic, the experts said. The same experts have stated that an extended railway network, until Dosso, will allow a better capacity of transportation and meet the demands of growth because of the comparative advantages it would offer.
This project will also relieve the road, and for that, it has caught the attention of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) which supports, with 250 million US dollars, the feasibility studies of the Dosso-Niamey extension.