is a contractual reorganization that does not go unnoticed in the current context of Senegal where, beyond the violence, criticisms have been reiterated accusing the authorities of giving pride of place to foreign interests, particularly French ones. As for the Autoroute de l’Avenir, the first of this scale in Senegal, delivered in 2013, it was built on a public-private partnership and has been the subject of a 30-year concession, which has since been extended. . It connects Dakar over 90 kilometers to the Blaise-Diagne international airport.
Criticism of the initial concession contract
Among the criticisms leveled at the government, there is the accusation that the assembly, which accompanied the initial concession contract, is unbalanced to the detriment of Senegal. Another point of dissatisfaction: many users have denounced the prices charged by the company in charge of the work, the French Eiffage. To this must be added the ridiculous and barely imaginable amount of the royalty paid annually by Eiffage: 1,000 CFA francs, or 1.53 euros, in the first contract. Enough to justify many scathing comments. This suggests that the negotiations initiated for months were carried out under strong pressure, even if the authorities, through an official of the Ministry of Finance speaking on condition of anonymity, refuted everything. cause and effect and presented the agreement signed on Tuesday as a “culmination”.
A slight improvement for Senegal in the new contract
After months of laborious negotiations, therefore, the new agreement for the management of the Autoroute de l’Avenir allows Senegal to secure more income and increased participation in governance, and this, although, as stated by press release from the Ministry of Finance, “the outcome of the negotiations [fût] in no way guaranteed, the exchanges having been numerous and the divergences, at times, profound ”. On arrival, the duration of the concession was extended by five years without the exact term being specified. The State acquires a 25% stake in the Société Eiffage of the Autoroute de l’Avenir (Secaa) concession, for an amount of 19 billion CFA francs, or some 29 million euros. In addition, “the State of Senegal will benefit from the distribution of dividends for each financial year”, it is specified. As the owner of the land on which the motorway passes, the Senegalese State will collect a royalty representing 2% of the annual figure of Secaa, with, it is indicated, “a minimum of 800 million FCFA” (1, 2 million euros) per year. This provision applies from this year. In addition, the indexation of toll prices to inflation is frozen for five years, which concretely means a freeze of prices strictly speaking. By way of comment, the French group indicated that “the agreement confirms the lasting anchoring of Eiffage in Senegal”. It should be remembered that the company has been present in the country for 95 years in the construction and concession trades.
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