GABON · ROADS
Key Facts
- The country Gabon is an oil and manganese producer on Central Africa’s Atlantic coast.
- What happened On Wednesday 28 October, the president ordered road builders to speed up and wants projects finished before 2030.
- Why it matters Gabon supplied 64% of US manganese ore imports in 2021 to 2024, and several road projects are late.
- What it means for you Gabon’s draft 2027 budget cuts public investment by US$188 million to US$1.80 billion.
- Still open No company, road, cost or timetable was named, so which projects are late is unknown.
President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon, an oil and manganese producer on Central Africa’s Atlantic coast, ordered road-building companies to speed up their work and reaffirmed that he wants the projects finished before 2030, the presidency said on Wednesday 28 October 2026. The note names no company, no road and no cost, and the only date it gives is 2030.
For US readers the order touches a country that supplied 64% of US manganese ore imports in 2021 to 2024 and whose 2027 draft budget counts on raising 1,144.1 billion CFA francs (US$1.94 billion) on international markets. Conversions use about 589 CFA francs to the US dollar, from the European Central Bank’s euro rate of 29 October 2026 and the fixed peg of 655.957 CFA francs to the euro.
In Plain English
Oligui Nguema led the August 2023 coup and was sworn in as elected president on 3 May 2025. EBOMAF is a Burkinabe construction group, COVEC and CRBC are Chinese contractors, and Meridiam is a French infrastructure fund.
What Happened
In the capital, Libreville, on 28 October 2026 the president received the heads of the companies that build and rehabilitate the national road network, the presidency note says. They reviewed the progress of sites, the slow pace of work and the steps needed to speed it up.
Citing delays on several projects, he gave firm instructions for immediate acceleration, close monitoring of sites and strict technical and quality standards. He named provinces rather than roads, from Estuaire, where Libreville lies, to Ogooué-Lolo, Haut-Ogooué, Nyanga and the other provinces.
Which Roads and Companies Are Involved
The note names no firm, but earlier presidency notes show who holds some of the work. On Wednesday 25 March 2026 the president pressed the Burkinabe group EBOMAF, led by Mahamadou Bonkoungou, to speed up works that include four sections totalling 452 kilometres in Ngounié and Ogooué-Maritime provinces.
On Tuesday 2 June 2026 he received the head of the Chinese contractor COVEC, Zhu Junbo, who promised an imminent restart of works on two roads in Nyanga province and on the Sibang to Bambouchine road in Estuaire. The public works ministry says the Ndendé to Tchibanga road restarted in December 2023 after almost ten years of stoppage.
The Transgabonaise is an 828-kilometre road from Libreville to Franceville, run as a public-private project by the Société Autoroutière du Gabon with the French fund Meridiam as investor. In September 2026 the Chinese contractor CRBC took over the 16-kilometre section from kilometre 24 to kilometre 40, and the then public works minister, Edgard Moukoumbi, set delivery for December 2027.
Why the Gabon Road Deadline Matters
The 2027 draft budget, adopted on Friday 18 September 2026, sets public investment at 1,058.4 billion CFA francs (US$1.80 billion), including 287.3 billion (US$487 million) of loans from abroad. That is 110.7 billion (US$188 million) below this year’s supplementary budget, and the Council of Ministers communiqué gives no breakdown of that total by sector.
In 2025 the state spent 155.1 billion CFA francs (US$263 million) of its own investment money, only 41.4% of plan. The 2030 date matches the end of the government’s National Growth and Development Plan 2026-2030, on which the 2027 budget is built.
What It Means for You
Gabon was the world’s second-largest manganese producer in 2025, the US Geological Survey, a federal science agency, says. Much of the ore is mined at Moanda in Haut-Ogooué province and hauled by the Setrag railway, which its owner, the French mining group Eramet, says carries 6 million tonnes of ore and goods a year, so the roads appear to matter less to the mines than to local trade.
Investors in Gabonese debt should note that the 2027 draft carries 667.3 billion CFA francs (US$1.13 billion) of interest charges, as set out in Gabon’s 2027 budget and its debt interest bill. The same draft includes 28.5 billion CFA francs (US$48 million) to repay the financing of the Alembé to Mikouyi road works on the Transgabonaise.
Drivers on National Road 1 out of Libreville should expect works and diversions on the kilometre 24 to 40 section until the December 2027 target. The public works minister is now Lambert Mouvinde Millot, who took office in the reshuffle of 11 October 2026.
What Is Not Known
The presidency note does not say which companies or sites are the most delayed, how long each delay is or what penalties apply. It gives no cost, no source of financing and no timetable between now and 2030.
The 2027 draft sets aside 142.9 billion CFA francs (US$242 million) to clear arrears but does not say how much is owed to road companies. It is also unclear how a smaller investment budget will pay for faster work, or whether the new minister will change any contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Gabon’s president order road companies to do?
On Wednesday 28 October 2026 he ordered immediate acceleration of works, close monitoring of sites and strict quality standards. He wants the road projects finished before 2030.
Which companies is Gabon’s president dealing with?
The 28 October note names none. Earlier presidency notes show meetings with the Burkinabe group EBOMAF in March and the Chinese contractor COVEC in June 2026, and the Chinese firm CRBC took over part of the Transgabonaise in September.
How much does Gabon plan to invest in 2027?
The draft 2027 budget sets public investment at 1,058.4 billion CFA francs (US$1.80 billion). That is 110.7 billion CFA francs (US$188 million) less than in this year’s supplementary budget.
Why does Gabon matter to US supply chains?
Gabon supplied 64% of US manganese ore imports in 2021 to 2024, the US Geological Survey says. Much of that ore travels by railway, so the road deadline appears to matter more to local trade.
Sources: Presidency of Gabon, audience note on road infrastructure, 28 October 2026; Presidency of Gabon, audience note with EBOMAF, 25 March 2026; Presidency of Gabon, audience note with COVEC, 2 June 2026; Council of Ministers final communiqué, 18 September 2026; Council of Ministers final communiqué, 15 October 2026; Presidency of Gabon, list of the government, 11 October 2026; Gabon public works ministry, Nyanga roads, 1 February 2025; Gabon public works ministry, Transgabonaise, 9 October 2024; World Bank Group investment guarantee agency, Transgabonaise project summary, 2024; EBOMAF company news page, March 2026; US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, manganese, February 2026; Eramet, manganese activities, accessed 30 October 2026; European Central Bank, euro reference rate against the US dollar, 29 October 2026. More: Africa news and Gabon explained from The Rio Times.
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