Benin/Launching of the 2nd phase of the Fishing Road: 35 km to be asphalted for service and tourist take-off

Minister Hervé Hêhomey launched the second phase of development and asphalting work on the Fishing Road and its slip roads, the Slave Route and Cotonou's Eastern Corniche in Ouidah on Thursday 4 March. This is an integrated environmental, tourism and economic project to beautify the coast of Benin.

The localities of Adounko, Avlékété and Djègbadji in the commune of Ouidah will be opened up with the secondThe localities of Adounko, Avlékété and Djègbadji in the commune of Ouidah will be opened up with the second phase of the development and asphalting works of the Fishing Road and its slip roads launched this Thursday in Djègbadji. The 21.38 km long main section goes from Adounko to the Gate of No Return through Avlékété, for 7.43 km in 2×2 lanes and the rest in 1×2 lanes.2 lanes, says Serge Ahouandogbo, Director General of the Société des infrastructures routières du Bénin (Sirb), delegated project manager.
The Adounko - Cococodji slip road is 4.93 km long and will be upgraded to 2×2 lanes and the 2.36 km long Porte du No-return - Bouche du Roy section will be made into 1×2 lanes, he continued.
The project also takes into account the development of Cotonou's Corniche Est, which begins on the descent of the River Cotonou.The project also takes into account the development of the Eastern Corniche of Cotonou, which begins at the descent of the old Cotonou bridge, runs along the eastern bank of the lagoon and the sea to the south and ends at the western fence of the Plm Alédjo hotel, for a total length of 2.2 km to be developed in 2×1 lanes.
The major attraction will undoubtedly be the Slave Route and its related developments, for which works will cover a total length of 4.10 km.
These projects will be carried out as a continuation of the first phase of the Fishing Route on the Cotonou - Adounko section (12.5 km). They meet the threefold objective of mobility and access, environmental management and the enhancement of tourist sites in the coastal zone in Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi, Ouidah and Grand-Popo," emphasises Hervé Hêhomey, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport.

Seamless execution!

The work has been entrusted to the Sogea Satom Benin/Sogea Satom UK consortium, which is already working in the field, with the Louis Berger/ Horse consortium carrying out a monitoring mission.
Jean-Claude Codjia, Prefect of the Atlantic, urged the said companies to honour their contractual commitments by delivering quality works and respecting the 36-month deadline for the works.
While insisting on the "flawless" execution of the works, Minister Hêhomey joined with Mayor Christian Houétchénou of Ouidah to encourage the executing company to give priority to local labour.
In response to the mayor's plea for a special project to renovate the road infrastructure in the town of
Ouidah, the minister announced thathe will return in a few days to officially launch construction work on the bridge over Lake Toho at KP 0+500 of the Pahou - Tori road and maintenance work on the Ouidah - Savi road. He urges the local populations to exercise caution and a sense of civic-mindedness by complying with the prescriptions that will be given to reduce the disruption to traffic that will result from the work on the axes concerned.
Finally the Slave Route!

Phew! Awaited for ages and promised by successive governments, the development of the Slave Route will be a reality in a few months. A 4 km-long memory section of the Slave Trade, it will link the Fishing Road to the mythical and historic city of Ouidah, starting from the Auction Square on the seafront (Gate of No Return).
This route retraces the perilous journey of slaves sold as common merchandise, with various stopovers: Maison fleurie, Arbre de l'Oubli, Cases Zomaï, Mémorial du Souvenir, Arbre du Retour, before boarding the holds of the slave ships.
The bridge on the main section (3.5 km with a right-of-way between 16 and 23 m) will be rebuilt as well as a 600 m bypass in 2×1 lanes. These works will have a significant impact on tourist activities and constitute a genuine urban and landscaping project with a pedestrian walkway that will allow the establishment of a hiking circuit around sacred sites such as the Auction Square, Zoungbodji, the Gate of No Return and the Colonial Comptoir.
A project of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is eagerly awaiting the restoration of the statues marking the different stages, some of which are more or less degraded. C. U. P.

Source: lanationbenin.info