BENIN’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE

# Transport

Owing to its strategic location neighboring Nigeria and providing access to the landlocked countries of West Africa (Burkina Faso, Niger), Benin is a natural hub for the region, with the port of Cotonou as the main entrance. Cotonou is also the starting point of the Benin-Niger Railway (OCBN), which extends 578 kilometers into the interior and ends in Parakou (Benin). From there, goods must be trucked another 380 kilometers to the Niger River, increasing transport costs and transportation time. Firms must wait up to a month to get rail service, and two to four months for the return of containers from Niger. It appears that OCBN would lose market share and would not be competitive if additional costs were not transferred to surface transport carriers in the form of official fees (World Bank 2005a).

There are two paved North–South corridors between Cotonou and Niamey (Niger), and Cotonou, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Bamako (Mali). Those axes are complemented by five East–West corridors, of which two are paved, connecting Togo, Benin, and Nigeria.

Despite its poor and limited infrastructure, in particular in the port sector, Benin’s capacity to efficiently move goods and connect manufacturers and consumers with international markets is among the best in West Africa, trailing only Senegal, according to a recent survey of trade logistics. Feedback on the logistics ―friendliness‖ of the countries in which operators on the ground (global freight forwarders and express carriers) is packaged in the Logistics Performance Index (LPI).<sup>1</sup> Benin’s LPI, at 2.79, is above the regional average of 2.46 (figure 5). The components that received the lowest scores

**Figure 5. Benin’s Logistics Performance Index is one of the highest in West Africa**

<!-- Start of picture text --> 3<br>2.5<br>2<br>1.5<br>1<br>0.5<br>0<br>Logistics Performance Index<br>Senegal Benin Guinea Togo Nigeria Niger Cote d'Ivoire Gambia, The Ghana Liberia Mali Burkina Faso Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone SSA<br><!-- End of picture text --> _Source_ : World Bank 2010.

by operators in the country were the quality of trade- and transport-related infrastructure (ports, railroads, roads, information technology) and the efficiency of the clearance process (speed, simplicity, and predictability of formalities) by border control agencies.

The time required to trade across Benin’s borders is longer the average experienced by coastal countries in West Africa but better than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa. The time necessary to comply with all procedures required to export goods from Benin is 30 days, versus 24 days in other coastal countries in West Africa. On average 32 days are required to import goods into Benin, above the average for regional coastal countries, at 28 days. The cost to export or import to Benin, at around $1,300 per container, is comparable with the costs faced by Nigeria, but considerably higher than the costs of

> 1 The Logistics Performance Index is based on a worldwide survey of operators on the ground (global freight forwarders and express carriers), providing feedback on the logistics ―friendliness‖ of the countries in which they operate and those with which they trade. They combine in-depth knowledge of the countries in which they operate with informed assessments of the global logistics environment.

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