Since the transition period began in August 2023, the Burkinabè construction giant EBOMAF has risen to become Gabon’s leading public contract holder. In under three years, the company founded by businessman Mahamadou Bonkoungou has accumulated contracts worth over 700 billion FCFA—a figure rarely achieved by a single foreign operator in the country. The portfolio spans critical road networks, the Andem airport expansion, and Libreville 2, the new administrative capital, all part of projects championed by transitional president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.
Dominance in Gabon’s public procurement landscape
The rapid accumulation of contracts raises questions not just about scale but also about pace. Nearly every major infrastructure announcement from the presidency has pointed to the same contractor, with little public disclosure on competitive bidding processes. EBOMAF’s projects span hundreds of kilometers of roadworks, alongside airport facilities and a large-scale urban development aimed at easing congestion in Libreville.
This concentration of contracts in a single operator’s hands brings up familiar concerns about fiscal dependency. When one group handles the design, execution, and even pre-financing of multiple projects, the state’s financial flexibility diminishes significantly. Gabon, facing declining oil revenues in recent years, is already under scrutiny by international financial institutions for its rising external debt.
Budget transparency under scrutiny
The 700 billion FCFA figure, cited by EBOMAF itself, has not been officially consolidated by Gabon’s public finance authorities. The Ministries of Public Works and Public Accounts, along with the Audit Court, have yet to release a comprehensive breakdown of the contractual obligations binding the state to EBOMAF. Without a unified dashboard, tracking actual financial flows becomes difficult—mixing direct payments from state resources, bank pre-financing, and potential compensation mechanisms.
The lack of clarity fuels concerns over treasury management. Who approves the final invoices? Which financial institutions manage the cash flows? What sovereign guarantees have been issued to secure pre-financing arrangements? These are critical questions that, under IMF and AfDB governance standards, require regular public reporting of commitments and disbursements. The institutional silence stands in stark contrast to the high-profile inaugurations of completed projects.
Evaluating the pre-financing model
EBOMAF has built its regional reputation on an integrated model combining technical execution with bank pre-financing, often backed by West African lenders. This approach allows cash-strapped governments to initiate major works without immediately tapping tax revenues. However, it shifts repayment obligations onto future budgets, with the real cost hinging on negotiated financial terms.
The model has helped the group establish a strong presence in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Senegal. Yet it has also sparked recurring controversies over applied interest rates, potential cost overruns, and the quality of delivered infrastructure. Replicating this model on a large scale in Gabon—within a politically transitional context—demands a thorough review of financial clauses and oversight mechanisms.
For Gabon’s financial partners, the stakes extend beyond operational performance. They involve the credibility of the transition government’s fiscal trajectory and the long-term sustainability of debt servicing once electoral timelines are crossed. Publishing a consolidated report on EBOMAF-related commitments would send a strong transparency signal at a time when multilateral lenders are reassessing their exposure to Gabon’s sovereign risk.
The centralization of major infrastructure projects under a single operator also casts a shadow over Gabon’s domestic construction ecosystem. Local firms, often confined to subcontracting roles, struggle to scale up due to limited access to high-value contracts. The unresolved question of how EBOMAF’s financial ledgers are managed in Gabon adds another layer of uncertainty.
