BURKINA FASO
Scania has entered into a deal to provide buses to help improve public transport and sustainable mobility in the West African country’s capital city, as part of the Greater Ouagadougou Urban Mobility Project.
A total of 304 buses will be supplied to the city authorities for the project, which will help meet the Burkinabé government’s goal of establishing a modern network of public transport solutions by 2022, in order to reduce the use of private vehicles and the level of air pollution in the city of more than 2.5 million people.
The sustainable transport solution will see Scania supply 80 low-entry 13-metre buses; 58 low-entry 15-metre buses; 10 low-entry articulated buses; and 30 coaches. The vehicles will be bodied by South American bodybuilder Marcopolo and be able to run on biofuels, which are readily available in Burkina Faso. In addition, Scania’s partner Volkswagen Camino Bus will deliver 126 minibuses, also bodied by Marcopolo, to operate on feeder routes.
“We are very proud to contribute to the urban mobility development of Greater Ouagadougou, with strong social and environmental effects,” said Nicolas Lougovoy, Scania’s Head of Strategic Projects for the Europe, Middle East and Africa Region. “We believe that the combination of skills between the Scania and our partner, the French-based public transport operator RATP, is undoubtedly one of the keys to the success of this innovative project. We hope that it will be a success story and a case study for the whole of Africa.”
In addition to the buses, Scania and its partners will also supply a bus depot and extensive training to the bus drivers and technicians working for SOTRACO, Ouagadougou’s public transport company. The agreement also includes Scania fleet management and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) equipment, while the project partners will also work on the development and implementation of local alternative fuel solutions to eventually achieve a fleet of buses that is 100% biodiesel.
“Sitting in Ghana as the representatives of Scania in the West Africa region, we are proud of our accomplishments in Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, and now Burkina Faso. Our goal is to make sustainable transport a reality for all countries in the region,” said Johan Kohler, Scania’s Managing Director for West Africa.
The project has also benefited from the support of Team Sweden, which is a partnership between the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Sweden in Burkina Faso, Business Sweden, Swedfund, the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN), the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK), and BNP Paribas.
“Burkina Faso has continued to develop and show potential of being a major player in the region. To support this growth, there has been renewed investment in key areas; this is evidence of the higher investment activity I see in the whole region of West Africa with an increased attention from Swedish companies.” said Anthonia Adenaya Huard, Regional Director for West Africa at Business Sweden who has been working with this collaboration since 2016.
“I am really pleased to see this partnership between the two countries at this time and I am looking forward to an even closer collaboration between Sweden and Burkina Faso,” added Susanne Alldén, Head of Cooperation and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second phase including road infrastructures and urban mobility equipment is also being planned with Ouaga City and partners.
