The evolution of transport infrastructure development policies in Togolese neoliberal context

The article examines the contemporary context of transportation infrastructure projects in Togo. It sheds light on a significant transition towards neoliberalism in the infrastructure policy of the Togolese state. As the Togo emerges from a period of political and economic turbulence that began in 1980 with structural adjustment programs and the failure of the democratic transition, large-scale transportation projects are seen as catalysts for new economic development. However, this revival is accompanied by major changes in the conception, financing, and management of infrastructure, with strong involvement of private actors encouraged by supranational organizations and international financial institutions. Transportation infrastructures are no longer solely seen from the perspective of consolidating the state’s territorial sovereignty, as they were during the era of grand works policies. In the neoliberal paradigm, they also become, more prominently, instruments designed to facilitate and accelerate the flow of connections to global trade networks. Infrastructures become instruments of political and economic domination benefiting the Togolese political power and private operators, engendering new power relations on various scales. Despite the diversification of actors, the Togolese state strengthens its political power by adapting to the requirements of economic globalization. The study, based on interviews and quantitative data collected between 2019 and 2022 from a variety of stakeholders involved in the sector, reveals that the neoliberalization of transportation infrastructures has transformed modes of production and management, fostering practices of clientelism and opportunism. Despite new financing and governance mechanisms, the state retains a central role in coordinating and controlling the sector. Thus, opening to the private sector does not diminish the power of the state but contributes to shaping a neoliberal developmental state, reconciling sovereignty with the protection of private interests.