The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a $275 million financing package to support the upgrade of Mauritania’s main railway corridor.
Under the agreement, the AfDB will contribute $150 million, while the EIB will provide $125 million to modernize the railway connecting iron ore mines in Zouerate, northeastern Mauritania, to the Atlantic port of Nouadhibou, according to a joint statement from the lenders.
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The deal, guaranteed by the European Union, was signed on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum in Rabat, according to Reuters.
The funding will enable Mauritania’s national industrial and mining company (SNIM) to rehabilitate the existing railway and construct 42 kilometres of new track linking future mining sites at El Aouj and Atomai.
It will also allow SNIM, the country’s largest employer, to acquire locomotives, wagons, and maintenance equipment, the statement added.
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Image Credit: Travel And Tour World
