According to bank provided information, the programme's development objective is to help improve the national and regional transport logistics chain in order to stimulate intra-regional trade. Specific programme objectives: (i) improve service levels on the Bobo Dioulasso-Banfora-Cote d'Ivoire border community roads, including the Banfora-Orodara slip road, and the Bougouni-Manankoro-Cote d'Ivoire border road; (ii) ensure that the river Leraba, which straddles Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, can be crossed in all weather conditions4;(iii) improve corridor performance by reducing non-tariff barriers, harassment and border crossing times; (iv) improve access to basic social and community services. These objectives aim to improve the quality of life of the local population.

The ZIDP comprises the Hauts-Bassins and Cascades regions in Burkina Faso, the Bougouni and Sikasso administrative regions in Mali, and the Folon, Kabadougou and Poro regions in Cote d'Ivoire. According to data supplied by the statistics departments of the three (3) countries, the ZIDP is home to a population of 4,513,000, or 6.28% of the total population of the 3 countries. It covers an area of 96,977 km2, or 5.28% of the total area of the 3 countries. Women account for 51% of the total population of the ZIDP. Given its regional vocation, the program's extended zone of influence covers the entire territory of the three (3) countries.

Burkina Faso and Mali are two landlocked countries in West Africa. For their international trade, they mainly use the land corridors that link them to the seaports of neighboring coastal countries. As a result, the vitality of the economies of Burkina Faso (BF) and Mali (ML) is largely dependent on the state of their road corridors. The Abidjan-Bobo Dioulasso-Ouagadougou and Bamako-Man-San Pedro corridors give these two countries access to the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro for their international trade. On the entire route of these corridors, the sections in poor condition for which financing is being sought are located in Burkina Faso and Mali. These include the community road sections Bobo Dioulasso-Banfora-Frontiere Cote d'Ivoire, including the Leraba bridge, and Bougouni-Garalo-Manankoro-Frontiere Cote d'Ivoire. This situation contributes to increasing transport costs, putting both countries at a disadvantage, with some of the highest transport costs in the world. To remove certain obstacles to facilitating transport on the Abidjan-Ouagadougou Corridor, the program will rehabilitate and double the common bridge at the border between Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire. The UEMOA, at border level, for both corridors, through a Public-Private Partnership: (i) has built a new juxtaposed control post (PCJ) at the Leraba (BF-CI border); and (ii) plans, through the same mechanism, to build the PCJ at Manankoro (ML-CI border).The customs interconnection at the BF-CI border is up and running.

Olaya Degnon Cestmir Albe HOUSSOU
Transport Engineer, PICU6
African Development Bank
a.houssou@afdb.org 
www.afdb.org

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