Earlier this week, the Government of Gabon signed a contract with INPEX SA, subsidiary of RISE Gabon, to carry out necessary studies on the planned 340km Komo-Ogooue Railway (KOR) project.
RISE Gabon is an investment vehicle dedicated to financing the country’s infrastructure and was born out of a partnership with the Islamic Development Bank in 2020.
The new railway line would link Owendo in Libreville to Booué in Central Gabon. It is part of the country’s efforts to expand its logistic network and support the diversification of its economy. Under a 30-year concession, Gabon is already financing and upgrading its strategic 650km Transgabonaise railway line that connects Owendo to Franceville.
Since 2015, the Transgabonaise railway has notably been subject to a €509m modernization, renovation and upgrade programme (the “PRN”) to restore its initial capacity by 2024. In 2021, an additional CAPEX of €197m was agreed upon (“PRN2”) to further increase the capacity of the line to reach a total of 19 m MT by 2027.
