Minister of Equipment and Transportation: Implementation of the President’s Vision has led to a Qualitative Leap in Transportation

We are working to implement a comprehensive modernization of the transport infrastructureHis Excellency the Minister of Equipment and Transport, Mr. Ail Ould El Veiiek, stressed that his sector is implementing the vision and pledges of President of the Republic Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani in the field of transport to improve this vital and important field, based on an integrated and ambitious strategy, reviewing in this context the qualitative leap the country has witnessed during this recent period in the field of transport.

The Minister pointed out that this vision has enabled the completion of more than 3000 km of paved roads, in addition to what is being worked on within the framework of the Nouakchott Mobility Project, as well as the rehabilitation of domestic airports, in parallel with the digitization of documents, while new projects are being studied within the vision of the “My Ambition for the Homeland” program.

This came during a “special meeting” with the official media organizations: Mauritanian News Agency, Mauritania TV and Radio Mauritania, on Saturday in Nouakchott, to present the outcome of the sector in recent years, the achievements made in the field of road infrastructure and transportation, as well as the future prospects of the transportation sector.

He explained that the last six years have witnessed the construction of more than 3,000 kilometers of paved roads, 2,000 of which are new roads, while about 1,200 kilometers of the old road network were rehabilitated in the largest maintenance operation the country has ever seen, costing the state treasury about 70 billion ouguiya.

The Minister of Equipment and Transport emphasized that all provinces of the country have been connected to the national road network, with the exception of three provinces that are in the process of being connected to the network.

He added that about 400 km of urban roads have been completed in Nouakchott and some interior cities, pointing out that 138 km of paved roads are currently being implemented in Nouakchott as part of the emergency program for the development of the city of Nouakchott, and work has been completed in several districts such as Riad, Toujnine and Arafat.

Mauritania now has a road network of more than 6,000 kilometers, he said.

The Minister spoke about the Nouakchott mobility project and its importance for the smooth flow of traffic and the provision of transportation for citizens, explaining that the buses purchased have a capacity of 150 passengers each, which will enable the provision of effective transportation services that meet the needs of citizens.

 

He also stressed the importance of the bridges inaugurated in Nouakchott as part of the urban road network development projects (the Mauritanian-Chinese Friendship Bridge, the residential neighborhood bridge and the Synergy Bridge), and their role in the smooth flow of traffic within the capital.

 

In order to maintain these important projects and gains, the state has established an organization for road maintenance works (ETER) that has the resources, equipment and equipment to ensure road maintenance, noting in this regard that there are road axes threatened by quicksand, such as the Atar-Tajkja road, which needs constant and careful follow-up.

 

With regard to linking the road network with neighboring countries, the Minister of Equipment and Transport pointed out the importance of the Tindouf-Nouakchott road, on which work has begun and which represents a gateway between Mauritania and Algeria, in addition to the Rosso Bridge, which will facilitate movement between Mauritania and Senegal and promote regional integration.

In response to a question about the quality of roads and the standards followed in their implementation, the Minister of Equipment and Transport explained that the construction of roads is based on accurate studies and taking into account many technical standards, noting that the sector has organized consultative days in the field of roads to reach precise objectives that enable the completion of projects with the required standards and within the specified timeframe.

* Land and air transportation Tangible achievements *

During the second axis of the meeting, the Minister of Equipment spoke about land and air transport and the tangible achievements made in this field, highlighting that the Nouakchott Mobility Project 2026, through which some roads were expanded to 28 meters wide, part of which is dedicated to bus routes to transport citizens, noting that these routes are equipped with modern traffic lights that, in addition to bridges, will contribute to reducing traffic congestion in the capital, Nouakchott.

He said that the public transport company “STP” was provided and supported with the necessary means to perform its work properly, as it purchased 62 large high-quality buses with a capacity of 150 passengers, air-conditioned and designed to ensure comfort, equipped with all the necessary equipment and equipment, and 100 regular buses for other axes, with a program to manage and maintain these buses, indicating that the routes allow the transportation of 15 thousand passengers per day.

In response to a question on how to convince citizens to use buses instead of personal cars to help reduce traffic congestion, the Minister of Equipment and Transport, Mr. Aal Ould El Ferek, stressed that these buses have many characteristics, including speed, as they are faster than other cars because they take a route that is not shared by others, which facilitates the speed of the passenger to reach his destination within a short time, in addition to being equipped with all the necessary means to preserve the citizen and ensure his comfort.

He expressed his hope that citizens will turn to these buses to shorten the time and reduce traffic jams, noting that the drivers will be trained during the first weeks on all these trips, how to deal with them and the specific time to reach from the starting point to the specified destination, all in order to streamline the process and ensure the proper availability to the citizen.

 

The Minister said that preserving these facilities is everyone’s responsibility, as stressed by the President of the Republic during the inauguration ceremony of the Friendship Bridge, urging everyone, including administrative authorities, citizens and civil society organizations, to play their roles in this regard in order to preserve these important projects and necessary services for citizens, for which large sums of money were spent.

In response to a question about interstate transport and reducing the chaos it witnesses, the Minister of Equipment and Transport explained that there are measures and procedures to reduce these imbalances, including road safety measures to mobilize transport companies to reduce excessive speed and use qualified vehicles that meet the required standards, explaining that the sector plans to organize consultative days to agree on a package of measures in this field to regulate the sector, which represents about 20% of the country’s GDP, hoping that the sector will witness radical improvements that reflect positively on the country and the citizen with positive results in the coming days.

In response to a question about centralizing the collection of car papers at one center at the Transport Department, His Excellency said that the sector is currently undergoing new programming to develop all services, noting that car ownership cards have been digitized and will be available as soon as possible, pointing out that there are more than 10 cards available for withdrawal on the platform and at the Transport Department.

In response to a question on measures taken to reduce traffic accidents, the Minister pointed out that the sector has adopted a new national strategy for road safety based on a comprehensive approach, and annual awareness campaigns will be organized on all road axes to educate citizens, in addition to ratifying the African Charter for Road Safety, banning the movement of buses and transport vehicles after midnight outside cities, and installing radars to reduce speeding.

In response to a question about what has been achieved in the field of air transportation, the Minister of Equipment and Transport explained that some airports have been rehabilitated, such as Selibabi and Kiffa airports, Nouadhibou airport and Lemgheyti airport, and an agreement was signed with ASECNA that allows the inclusion of new airports in night flights The Mauritanian Airline Company has a fleet of seven airplanes, and has signed an agreement that allows it to facilitate its work and develop it in the coming periods, and some other measures have been taken to facilitate the maintenance of aircraft.

On a question related to the renewal of the fleet of urban transport vehicles, the Minister explained that the Ministry had conducted a tender for the purchase of 6,000 cars but it was not completed, indicating that the sector has conducted a new study whose tender will be launched soon to purchase 5,000 cars with funding from the private sector, to be sold to users of cars locally known as “Todroa”, and paid for in installments over 5 years.

– Future prospects in the field of roads and infrastructure*

 

In the last section, which focuses on the future prospects of the sector in the field of roads and infrastructure, the Minister of Equipment and Transport spoke about a number of programmed and stalled projects.

 

He stressed that in line with the President of the Republic’s “My Ambition for the Nation” program, the sector is working on launching new projects to rehabilitate the old road network, especially the Nouakchott-Nouadhibou roads: Nouakchott-Nouadhibou, Akjoujet-Attar, Rosso-Boghe, Kaeidi-Selibaby, Sankarafa-Tedjjikja, and Nema-Bankou, noting that the Road Maintenance Company is working to rehabilitate these sections until they are fully rehabilitated.

 

He stressed that the program will be launched in the coming weeks as part of the Emergency Program for Universal Access to Basic Services for Local Development, which is funded by the state budget with 16 billion old ouguiyas.

He added: Other projects awaiting funding have been studied, such as roads: Kankossa-Tanaha, Jigheni-Adel Bakrou, in addition to two roads for which funding has been obtained: Tintan – Ain Farbah – Atwil and Antikan – El Bazoul, and work will start before the end of the year.

He added that there are some major projects within the “My Ambition for the Nation” program that the sector is working with the concerned authorities to seek partners to finance and complete them, such as the highway projects: (Nouakchott-Betlemite), (Nouakchott-Inouadhibou), (Nouakchott-Rousseau), and the tramway project in Nouakchott.

With regard to airports, the Minister explained that there is a project to study how to rehabilitate and construct airports, and another project to build four bridges in the capital Nouakchott is still under study, noting that the sector is also working on updating texts and laws related to traffic laws.

amiIn response to a question related to the evaluation of the achievements made in the field of transportation, the Minister considered that the reforms witnessed by the sector in recent years were far-reaching compared to the situation in previous years, calling for the preservation of the gains made in this field.