Togo Launches €51 Million Coastal Defense Project Between Gbodjomé and Goumoukopé

Public works

Wednesday, 16 July 2025 13:52

Togo Launches €51 Million Coastal Defense Project Between Gbodjomé and Goumoukopé

(Togo First) - Togo has launched a new coastal protection project along the Gbodjomé–Goumoukopé stretch to fight worsening shoreline erosion. The project, worth CFA33.48 billion FCFA (about €51 million), forms part of the WACA ResIP program supported by the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD).

Construction is set to run for 18 months, from June 2025 to November 2026. The works will include building 22 transversal groynes—20 in Gbodjomé and 2 in Goumoukopé—each ranging from 65 to 75 meters long.

The project will also restore the beach by depositing 865,000 cubic meters of sand and filling two abandoned lagoon arms in Aného. To stabilize the shoreline naturally, teams will plant 10 hectares of coconut trees.

More than 8,000 households live near the coast, and projections show 80% of Togo’s population could live in coastal zones by 2050. This makes the new infrastructure a vital part of Togo’s climate resilience plan.

Dutch marine engineering company Boskalis International, which previously worked on the Agbodrafo–Sanvee Condji section, will handle construction. German firm Inros Lackner will supervise operations.

The technical team began preliminary works in June 2025, conducting topographic surveys, geotechnical tests, and identifying rock and sand extraction sites during a window of rough sea conditions.

In total, workers will move 1.3 million m³ of marine sand and 150,000 m³ of rock, stored across six logistics zones. All storage areas were prepared and compensated under the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP).

Beyond engineering, the project tackles social and environmental issues. It includes a participatory governance model, allowing local communities to take part in complaint resolution and environmental oversight.

A community component supports women and youth by promoting alternative livelihoods in areas most affected by climate change.

Program partners—including WAEMU, FDA, and Invest International—aim to turn the eastern coastal corridor into a regional example of climate adaptation. The model combines "gray" infrastructure like dikes and groynes with nature-based solutions such as reforestation and mangrove restoration.

This article was initially published in French by Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum

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