On July 7 and 8, 2023, the Ivorian Ministry of Construction, Housing and Urbanism organized the workshop for the restitution of the deliverables of phase 1 of the project to develop the Detailed Urban Plans (PUd) of urban units n° 5 and 7 integrated into the Master Plan for Urbanism of Greater Abidjan (SDUGA). Urban unit 5 includes the two municipalities of Yopougon and Songon, while urban unit 7 corresponds to the territory of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan. The workshop was attended by all the public actors concerned with the urban development of the aforementioned territories and in particular the Ministry of Planning and Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Road Maintenance, the Ministry of Hydraulics and Sanitation, the Town Halls of Yopougon and Songon, the Autonomous Port Authority of Abidjan, the District of Greater Abidjan, AMUGA, PACOGA, etc.

CONCEPT AFRICAin partnership with DIRASSET International renowned specialist in urban planning, has been in charge since the beginning of 2023 of this important project for the evolution of the Ivorian capital and its economic development.

The team of this group presented the physical and environmental constraints that frame the dynamics of evolution of the two municipalities and the Port, as well as the inventory of their levels of infrastructure equipment and service by urban services. Thus for the municipality of Yopougon, it will be necessary to face the overcrowding and the overdensity of land occupation, the shortcomings in terms of drinking water and sanitation and drainage, the isolation and the difficulty of connection with the rest of the capital, the insufficiencies of public transport in its various modes, Air pollution, the management of rainwater, erosion, etc… are also part of the challenges to be met.

The town of Songon is the natural extension of the capital to the west, with an overall land occupation rate of less than 10%. However, subdivision operations are undertaken at a sustained pace and the major challenge facing the authorities in charge of urbanization is to be able to supervise this dynamic and to make the deadlines for carrying out the master plans of the various infrastructures coincide with the pace of completion of the subdivision operations.

Finally, the Consortium confirmed the major role of the Autonomous Port of Abidjan in the economic growth of the whole country, which has as a corollary the satisfaction of the needs of the Port in large spaces for its extension as planned by the Master Plan for the Development of the Port. A constant lack of equipment and especially Port connectivity was highlighted by the study. .

At the same time, the phase 1 study reviewed the major infrastructure projects, in particular public transport, which are launched or envisaged by the public authorities.

In conclusion, it was suggested to the group of consultants to modify certain data presented and to review with the institutions concerned the updating of these data. Among other things, the consultant is encouraged to approach the officials of the communes of Yopougon and Songon and the Port of Abidjan to update the data concerning the three entities.