Kenedougou: The Minister of Homeland Construction, Mikalou Sidibe, visited the rehabilitation and paving site of National Road No. 8 (RN8), specifically the Orodara-Koloko-Mali border section, on March 15, 2026, to assess the progress of this strategic infrastructure project.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the 55-kilometer stretch, which is a part of the CU2 community corridor of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), currently exhibits a physical progress rate of 28.15% as of March 14, 2026. This is a significant shortfall given that 69.88% of the contractual period has been consumed. The discrepancy of over 40 percentage points between the progress of the work and the time elapsed has prompted Minister Sidibe to express his dissatisfaction.

Minister Sidibe emphasized the strategic importance of this road for both the local population and the national economy. He urged the construction company responsible for the project to intensify efforts to accelerate the work and recover the delays. The company cited certain constraints impacting the project, but Sidibe insisted these were not justifiable reasons for the observed delay.

Sidibe called on the company's management to take necessary actions to meet the contractual deadline while maintaining technical standards to ensure the road's quality. He also mentioned that his department would closely monitor progress to ensure adherence to the newly proposed schedule aimed at addressing the delays.

Alioune BS, head of the company managing the project, acknowledged the minister's concerns and committed to enhancing team and resource mobilization to achieve significant progress in the upcoming monitoring missions.