Mobility Project
The city of Conakry, the capital and main port of Guinea, extends over the coastal plain of a peninsula of 36 km long and 2 to 6 km wide. The municipality of Kaloum, which concentrates the economic and administrative activities of Conakry, is located at the end of the peninsula. The population of Conakry urban area has been growing significantly (around 4 per cent per year). The urban area is now extending beyond its administrative boundaries until Dubreka and Coyah.
Traffic is characterised by passenger flows from the suburbs to Kaloum in the morning and inversely in the evening. The roads are congested with low-capacity vehicles, which makes traffic very slow and difficult. The Urban Development Plan (PDU) carried out in January 2019 recommended the development of the "Conakry Express" passenger rail service operated by the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer de Guinée (SNCFG) on the CBK line between Conakry and Kagbélen (km 36 in towards Kindia).
In this context, the AFD entrusted the Setec / Nodalis Consortium with a feasibility study consisting of the analysis of the technical, environmental and social, institutional and legal, economic and financial aspects of three different investment scenarios for the development of the "Conakry Express": 40, 60 and 80 M €.
The mission started in January 2020 and our teams are currently finalising the technical and institutional diagnosis aiming at identifying the technical investment options and the possible organisation models for the service. The continuation of the study will aim to provide the elements required for choosing, with the stakeholders of the rail transport sector, the best investment option and contractual and financial solution, in order to secure, perpetuate and improve the "Conakry Express", in terms of frequency and quality of service to users.