Côte d’Ivoire and France sign 23 billion CFA franc financing agreements for Agora programme and Abidjan metro

Côte d’Ivoire and France have signed two financing agreements worth a combined 23 billion CFA francs ($40 million), or about €35 million, to support the development of sports facilities under the Agora programme and works linked to the Abidjan metro project.

The agreements were signed in Abidjan by Côte d’Ivoire’s Economy, Finance and Budget Minister Adama Coulibaly and France’s ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Jean-Christophe Belliard.

Part of the financing will support the Agora programme, which aims to develop local sports facilities accessible to communities across the country. Projects covered by the agreements include facilities in Guiglo, Dabou, Boundiali and Dimbokro.

The Agora programme is designed to expand access to sports infrastructure and promote community-based sporting activities, particularly outside the country’s main urban centres.

The second financing agreement concerns the Abidjan metro, one of Côte d’Ivoire’s largest ongoing transport infrastructure projects. The funds will help finance the diversion of a wastewater collector located along the metro route.

The work is intended to remove a technical constraint affecting the project and allow construction to continue.

The Abidjan metro is expected to strengthen public transport capacity in the economic capital, where rapid population growth has increased pressure on the existing transport network.

The two agreements cover different areas sports infrastructure, sanitation and urban transport and form part of broader financial cooperation between Côte d’Ivoire and France.

The latest financing brings further French-backed support to infrastructure projects aimed at improving public services and living conditions in Côte d’Ivoire.