The World Bank has approved a $216 million project aimed at enhancing climate-resilient transport infrastructure in the Sikasso-Korhogo-Bobo-Dioulasso (SKBo) region. This initiative seeks to bolster road and rail connectivity, facilitating value chain development while addressing climate change challenges.
This project aligns with efforts to improve infrastructure resilience and aims to promote integration and stability by tackling climate adaptation, food security, and regional fragility. Hamoud Abdel Wedoud Kamil, the World Bank Country Manager for Burkina Faso, remarked on the project's significance: “The SKBo project is a major step forward in the government’s efforts to modernize transport infrastructure and make it more resilient. In particular, it will help improve the performance of the road and rail network, reduce service interruptions, and improve the quality of life of the beneficiary populations.”
Key components include connecting communities to markets via resilient roads that operate year-round while enhancing road asset management. The project also emphasizes incorporating women into this sector.
Malaika Becoulet, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project, highlighted its integrated approach: “The operation is based on an integrated territorial approach and draws lessons from operations under way in Burkina Faso, in particular the Emergency Territorial Development and Resilience Project (PUDTR) and the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey Economic Corridor Project. The project will directly contribute to improving access to economic opportunities and services for communities in the Hauts-Bassins, Cascades, and Sud-Ouest regions, which have a combined estimated population of 3.9 million.”