Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo forms part of the wider Grand Nokoué urban region, where the growth of neighbouring communes has increased the importance of coordinated transport and infrastructure. The capital’s street network must serve local movement while also connecting to Cotonou and the rest of the metropolitan area.

Benin’s earlier decentralized city-management programme invested in roads and basic services in Porto-Novo and other primary cities, while the current Grand Nokoué mobility project is developing a bus-and-water public-transport network across five communes. The shift is significant: infrastructure is moving from individual municipal improvements toward a metropolitan system. For Porto-Novo, future accessibility depends on integrating local streets, public transport and regional connections so that growth can be accommodated without deepening dependence on fragmented informal mobility.