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Key trade route between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso collapses

By Ange Aboa, Reuters  
09 September 2016   |   2:59 am
A bridge on the railway linking Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso collapsed on Tuesday and it will be several months before the trade route between the two countries is fully restored, said Sitarail, a unit of the Bollore group.
Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara delivers a speech, on March 21, 2016 in Abdijan, on the opening session of the Africa CEO forum, forum for African business leaders. / AFP / SIA KAMBOU

Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara delivers a speech, on March 21, 2016 in Abdijan, on the opening session of the Africa CEO forum, forum for African business leaders. / AFP / SIA KAMBOU

A bridge on the railway linking Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso collapsed on Tuesday and it will be several months before the trade route between the two countries is fully restored, said Sitarail, a unit of the Bollore group.

Nobody was injured when a bridge over the River Nzi close to Dimbokro in central Ivory Coast collapsed and officials are inspecting the damage before starting repairs, Sitarail said in a statement.

The railway was built by French colonizers to link the port city of Abidjan with Niamey, Niger, via the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso exports cotton and manganese to Abidjan along the 1,260-km (780-mile) railway and imports oil, cement, merchandise and fertilizer to the town of Kaya.

Sitarail said the railway carried 200,000 people in 2015 and 900,000 tonnes of freight.

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