Gabon President Oligui Nguema Accelerates Modernisation of the Transgabonais Railway

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema met with Christian Magni, director of the state‑owned Setrag, to review the modernisation of Gabon's 669‑km Transgabonais railway. Since the 2021 upgrade programme began, 424 km of track have been renewed with concrete sleepers and 180 km of rails replaced. The Booué concrete‑sleeper factory has produced about 700 000 units toward a target of 1.1 million, putting the project a month ahead of its first‑half‑2026 schedule.

The line carries more than nine million tonnes of freight annually – chiefly manganese from the Moanda basin – and serves 250‑300 000 passengers each year. Modernising the corridor is framed as a pillar of Gabon's economic diversification, aiming to lower logistics costs and boost mining, forestry and agricultural exports while strengthening national sovereign infrastructure.