A World Bank delegation visited the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) construction site in Abidjan on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, to review the infrastructure’s progress.
The Ivorian Minister of Transport, Amadou Kone, expressed the government’s appreciation to the World Bank delegation, which included Vice President for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana.
Minister Kone highlighted the World Bank’s significant investment in mobility for Côte d’Ivoire, particularly for Greater Abidjan. This funding supports several key transportation projects, including two sections of the Y4 bypass and the ongoing BRT project.
The BRT project, a bus network designed to serve nearly half of Abidjan’s population of over 6 million, has secured $350 million (197.5 billion CFA francs) in funding from the World Bank and the French Development Agency.
The government’s vision is to establish a “modern, climate-friendly, environmentally responsible, and inclusive transportation sector.” The BRT line, spanning 20 km, promises transformative benefits for commuters: Time Reduction: Travel time from Yopougon (western Abidjan) to Bingerville (eastern Abidjan) is expected to decrease drastically from 3 hours to just 45 minutes. Reliability: The system will allow citizens to plan their journeys precisely, knowing the exact arrival time of the bus. Capacity: The BRT is projected to transport between 400,000 and 500,000 people per day in the economic capital.
The project also includes support for training informal transport operators (known locally as Woro-woro and Gbaka) and managers. Furthermore, an interoperability system between the BRT and other transport modes, including the state-owned Abidjan Transport Company (SOTRA), is being gradually implemented.
Minister Kone reassured the public that “everything is being done” to overcome challenges and make the infrastructure available to the people by 2028.
Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, praised the project, noting that it will lead to a reduction in the carbon footprint by promoting clean transportation and encouraging the renewal of the vehicle fleet, thus decreasing CO2 emissions. She welcomed the structuring project as essential given Abidjan’s rapid growth.
AP/fss/abj/APA