Franceville

Franceville is a regional capital in south-eastern Gabon and an important service centre for the mineral-producing Haut-Ogooué region. Its position at the eastern end of the country’s principal transport corridor gives roads and regional connectivity an outsized influence on the city’s development.

The Transgabonaise programme is intended to create a more efficient road axis between Libreville and Franceville through rehabilitation of the national network. Within the city itself, both the World Bank’s Gabon Urban Development Project and African Development Bank transport planning target secondary roads, drainage and more resilient urban infrastructure. These investments address a recurring problem in Gabon’s secondary cities: expansion over large areas without an equally strong local street network. For Franceville, improved regional access will have the greatest value when it is matched by better connections between neighbourhoods, services and employment areas.