World Bank to allocate $120 mln to Togo for the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey economic corridor

Infrastructure

Tuesday, 02 November 2021 12:27

World Bank to allocate $120 mln to Togo for the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey economic corridor

(Togo First) - After Niger and Burkina Faso, Togo also recently received the World Bank’s support for the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey economic corridor project. Last Friday, Sani Yaya, Togo’s minister of finance, and Coralie Gevers, chief of operations World Bank in Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea, signed a financing agreement for $120 million (around CFA68 billion).

The signing was chaired by President Faure Gnassingbé, after the leader met with the World Bank’s VP for Central and West Africa, Ousmane Diagana.

1 president

“The President of the Republic has done us the great honor of chairing the signing of the financing agreement for the Lomé-Ouagadougou-Niamey corridor project, which contributes to sub-regional integration. This shows Togo's solidarity with the landlocked countries. The strategic importance of the project is to support the development of economic relations, facilitate the movement of goods and services, and consequently accelerate the development of these three ECOWAS countries,” said Ousmane Diagana after the signing ceremony.

Aside from improving connectivity and advancing integration in the region, the corridor project specifically aligns with Togo’s ambition to become a regional logistics hub. At the heart of this ambition are also the autonomous port of Lomé, Adétikopé’s Industrial Platform (PIA), and its dry port.

"Several actions are planned. These include the rehabilitation of the Aouda-Kara section, the improvement of access roads to the agropoles of Kara and Oti, the completion of the road safety inspection, and the implementation of corrective actions on the Lomé-Cinkassé axis. Building parking lots along the corridor is also planned," the presidency wrote on its official website.

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REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.