The amount of investments done in and by Senegal puts the country on the podium of the fastest growing economies in the region. The foundation for its rapid development was laid in 2014 with the Plan for an Emerging Senegal, attracting foreign investments and giving incentives to develop infrastructural projects.
The Senegalese government began the construction of Ourossogui-Matam Airport in the country's northeast. Having the aid of the CFA 14 billion from the Czech Export Bank, the airport will be operational in June 2022.
Moreover, a high-speed regional express train was opened at the end of 2021, connecting the capital city Dakar with Blaise Diagne International Airport at the city outskirts. This connection allows for the transportation of 115,000 passengers every day. The investment was supported by ECOWAS bank with a loan of $119 million.
Another infrastructural project underway is the construction of a deep-water port in Dakar. The construction commenced on January 4, 2022, and received help from Dubai-based logistics company DP World and Autonomous Port of Dakar (PAD) in a joint venture arrangement approved by the government of Senegal as, DP World Dakar SA.
The hub will operate an $837-million, 300-hectare container terminal with an 840-meter-long quay, a depth of 18 meters, and a handling capacity of 1.2 million shipping container units every year. These will also be sent to and from Mali, creating 1,000 direct jobs.
The construction of another port is planned for the second phase of the investment. The Ndayane Port will be located 50 km south of Dakar and tied with transport links to Blaise Diagne International Airport.
The third investment was finished and opened on March 31, 2022. 1,600m steel bridge was financed by Senegal and China through the Export-Import Bank of China and built by a Chinese company in four years. Costing 40 billion CFA, the bridge construction created 2,000 jobs. According to a local resident, travel time across the river has been reduced from at least an hour to a few minutes.
The bridge's inauguration was officially announced by the President of Senegal, HE Macky Sall and the ambassador of China, Xiao Han.
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