Chinese Firms Build 184km Benin Cotton Road as Cotonou Port Adds 2 New Berths

2 articles · Updated · South China Morning Post · May 31

Benin is leaning on Chinese-backed construction to close infrastructure gaps, with work advancing on Cotonou Port’s Terminal 5, a 60km central highway and a 184km road through its northern cotton belt.
Terminal 5, built by China Harbour Engineering, includes land reclamation and two 100,000-tonne general-purpose berths at the Autonomous Port of Cotonou, a key commercial gateway.
China Road and Bridge is constructing the Savalou-Bante highway in central Benin, while Sinohydro is building the northern “cotton road” near the Niger border with backing from the Africa Growing Together Fund.
The projects fit into a multibillion-dollar modernization push that Benin’s new president sees as central to lifting growth and upgrading trade corridors reshaped over the past decade.

Can China's 'cotton roads' and smart ports lift 40% of Benin's population from poverty or just serve Beijing's trade ambitions?

As Chinese lending to Africa declines, what are the hidden costs behind Benin's massive new infrastructure deals?

With rising instability near the Niger border, can China protect its billion-dollar pipeline without being drawn into regional conflicts?