Fascinating to go down the dual highway to Cotonou in Benin. Not nearly so many loaded trucks coming into Nigeria as when I last visited. That's a sign of the impact of the world economic downturn and the credit squeeze in Lagos. The port is Benin's lifeblood. West Africa should be a growing trading region and the challenge is to get the wheels of world commerce moving again.
Infrastructure is getting better in Benin with the new port now privatised and prospect of modernisation of the railway to the north. So it could become a key regional transport hub in time. But the daily reality for many is a small bit of 'informal' trade- a bag of rice in one direction, cheap Nigerian petrol in the other.
Posted at 17:06 17 September 2009 by Bob Dewar | Comments[1]
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Posted by Ingo-Steven Wais on September 21, 2009 at 11:28 AM WAT #