Burkina Faso starts building first expressway in push to modernize

Approximately 332 km long, Burkina Faso's first expressway will connect the capital Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso in the country's south-west.

Burkina Faso's army ruler Captain Ibrahim Traore inauguarated its construction near Ouagadougou.

The project is under his Faso Mebo initiative, an ambitious plan to modernize the Sahel country. With at least $357 million earmarked in the 2026 state budget, authorities say they are using locally generated funds to finance the construction.

The completion of the highway will facilitate traffic flow along the corridor connecting the ports of Abidjan, Lomé, Tema, and Cotonou with landlocked Sahel.