After denouncing the double taxation agreement, the military in power since September 2022 have set their sights directly on the interests of a French company.
On Wednesday, the transitional government terminated an
agreement signed in October 2021 with the French group Meridiam/Marseille for
the operation of Donsin airport for a period of thirty (30) years.
For the Ministry of Transport, “the Council approved the
request to terminate the Donsin airport concession agreement,” according to the
minutes of the Council of Ministers meeting held on Wednesday 09 August 2023.
The government justified the termination on the grounds of
several breaches of the agreement.
“The private partner is expected to operate the
infrastructure for thirty years before handing it over to the State, even
though its financial contribution to the project is derisory. This is
unacceptable,” Transport Minister, Roland Somda explained.
The government added that many of the clauses of the
agreement are contrary to national and international civil aviation
regulations.
“The financial model guarantee doesn’t either guarantee the
sustainability of civil aviation’s sovereign bodies,” Mr. Somda explained.
The transitional authorities have reassured the national
public that they currently have “credible alternatives with other partners to
find a financing model that preserves the interests of the State.”
In October 2021, the ousted government of President Rock
Kabore signed the said contract with the French group Meridiam/Marseille for a
period of 30 years.
The ‘Collectif des Syndicats de l’Aéronautique Civile
denounced an “agreement that gives pride of place to the French group to the
detriment of our sovereignty and the major interests of the aeronautical
community by alienating the fundamental issues of State security.”
In January 2023, Captain Ibrahim Traore announced the
suspension of the concession agreement for Ouagadougou-Donsin International
Airport and the review of the texts governing it.