Boulgou: Occupants of the Bittou checkpoint parking lot have been compensated to facilitate infrastructure rehabilitation as part of the Lome-Ouaga-Niger Economic Corridor (PcELON) regional project, supported by the World Bank. The Burkina Faso Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI-BF) is overseeing the renovation of the customs checkpoint parking lot, with residents located on the site’s boundary wall receiving compensation to free up space for the work.

According to Burkina Information Agency, CCI-BF operations officer Barthelemy Zoungrana detailed that the operation was executed in three stages: awareness raising, inventory, and compensation payments. “You can see for yourself the state of deterioration of the site. The parking lot needed to be redeveloped to accommodate large trucks. The project includes paving the parking lot and rebuilding the fence,” Zoungrana stated.

Affected traders and artisans have expressed their satisfaction at being compensated. Bytogo Cherif, a cook, received a check for 2,489,600 CFA francs, while Ouedraogo Mahamoudou, a mechanic who has worked at the site for twenty years, expressed his delight at receiving compensation of more than 1,150,000 CFA francs. Others in the formal and informal sectors, including restaurateurs, mechanics, clothes washers, and canvassers, similarly received substantial compensation.

This compensation initiative is part of efforts to modernize the Bittou checkpoint, a strategic point in the economic corridor, by equipping the logistics platform with modern standards that align with local economic and social realities. Beneficiaries have praised the authorities and technical and financial partners for their efforts towards the development of the commune of Bittou and the facilitation of sub-regional trade.