The vision of the Ivorian Government regarding transportation is to increase the mobility of goods and people in order to maximize the sector's contribution to wealth creation.
To achieve this ambition, the development strategy for this sector revolves around the following main axes:
- Strengthening the legal and regulatory frameworks for transportation services;
- Enhancing the capacities of stakeholders in the transportation sector;
- Increasing urban and interurban mobility through the modernization and development of land transport infrastructure and services;
- Enhancing road, maritime, air, and port safety and security;
- Increasing and modernizing port and airport infrastructure.
To this end, several reforms and projects have been undertaken since 2012, including:
In terms of reforms
- The creation of Air Côte d'Ivoire in 2012 and the opening of Ivorian airspace;
- The establishment of an integrated management system for all road transport activities in 2014;
- The adoption of the Law on Domestic Transport Orientation (LOTI) in 2014 regulating domestic transport;
- The liberalization of lagoon transport in 2015;
- The regulation of the profession of transporter and the exercise of road transport activities in 2015;
- The certification of Abidjan's Félix Houphouët-Boigny Airport and the national airline Air Côte d'Ivoire to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2017 and 2016, respectively;
- The adoption of a new maritime code in 2017;
- The limitation of the age of used vehicles imported into Côte d'Ivoire since 2017;
- The ratification of air service agreements with Belgium, Spain, and Ethiopia in 2018, and with France, Portugal, and Switzerland in 2017;
- The operationalization of the Urban Mobility Authority in Greater Abidjan (AMUGA) in 2020;
- The operationalization of the Authority for the Regulation of Domestic Transport (ARTI) in 2020;
- The establishment of an intelligent transport system in 2021;
- The regulation of public transport for individuals in 2021 by decree No. 2021-860 of December 15, 2021;
- The implementation of a points-based driving license system in March 2023 by order No. 0048/MT/K/DGTTC of February 27, 2023, setting the conditions and modalities for the implementation of the points-based license;
Regarding projects
- The renewal of the vehicle fleet (new taxis and minibuses);
- The strengthening of the SOTRA fleet;
- The capacity building of 5,000 road transport stakeholders (3,500 drivers and 1,500 vehicle managers or owners as part of the Transport Sector Modernization Support Project (PAMOSET));
- The strengthening of the Air Côte d'Ivoire fleet;
- The modernization and upgrading of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan;
- The rehabilitation of airports in the interior of the country;
- The ongoing construction of new airports in the interior of the country;
- The modernization and expansion of the two ports.
All these actions undertaken in the various subsectors of transportation, including road, rail, air, maritime, and fluvial-lagoon transport, have improved the sector's contribution to GDP, which increased from 8.9% in 2018 to 9.0% in 2022.