Ivory Coast Summit Orchestrates Road Maintenance Investment and Strategy

The 21st General Assembly of the Association of African Road Maintenance Funds (AFERA) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, has proposed coordinated investment to enhance the quality of the African road network.

Titled “Towards sustainable financing of road funds for improved maintenance of the African road network,” the event aimed to ensure each African country establishes a road maintenance fund meeting specified standards.

Ésaie Moussa Aubin, President of ARMFA, raised concerns about the lack of recognition for Côte d’Ivoire’s road maintenance fund. Despite investing over $5 million in an 82,000 km linear road network, Ivory Coast boasts one of the continent’s extensive road networks.

Côte d’Ivoire’s dense road networks account for 40% of the West African Economic and Monetary Union road network, resulting in one of the highest road coverage rates in the sub-region.

Nevertheless, experts argue that the continent’s road infrastructure deficit leads to increased production and transaction costs that need to be tackled to leverage opportunities.