Benin: Nine Strategic Electricity and Water Projects Provisionally Frozen

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In an official notice made public on August 12, 2025, the institution halted procedures deemed irregular, citing non-compliance with several provisions of the Public Procurement Code, according to LaMarinabj.

Projects concerned

The suspended projects cover key sectors, including:

• the construction of five storage warehouses in Borgou and Alibori to strengthen food security,
• extension and densification works of the electricity network in Comè, Gobada, Léma, Miniki, and Agbadou,
• hydraulic development in Gogbédé, including a mini-dam, anti-erosion dikes, and flood-control devices,
• as well as a framework contract for maintenance and security of the ministry’s premises and technical departments.

Initially listed in the 2024 Annual Work Plan, these contracts were not finalized before the budget closure and were carried over into the 2025 plan. However, according to the ARMP, the legal conditions for continuation were not met.

Three legal conditions ignored

In its decision, the ARMP recalled that any procurement procedure must:

• include letters of extension and price confirmation from the selected contractors,
• prove the availability of budgetary credits,
• be re-listed in the current year’s Public Procurement Plan (PPM).

Yet, according to ARMP president Séraphin Agbahoungbata, none of the nine files submitted met these requirements. As a result, the MEEM’s Procurement Unit (PRMP) is prohibited from extending deadlines or pursuing the procedures as they stand.

Instability and administrative bottlenecks

The freezing of these projects highlights the difficulties of a ministry weakened by instability. In less than a year, two ministers have succeeded each other at its head. Since June 2025, the portfolio has been led by José Didier Tonato, who inherited an administration marked by reshuffles and delays.

This instability has already slowed the implementation of several electrification and rural water supply programs, eagerly awaited in communes such as Malanville, Karimama, Bembéréké, Comè, and others.

Toward a resumption of the projects?

According to a source close to the matter, the ministry has begun new steps to resubmit the files to the ARMP, ensuring this time that regulatory requirements are met.

But questions remain over actual financing and adherence to deadlines—conditions deemed essential to relaunch these priority projects.

For now, the affected populations must continue to wait, hoping to see long-promised projects finally materialize.