The end of the contract between Libreville Airport (ADL) and the Gabonese state had been expected for several months. This is now done in what, according to some observers, is described as a new illustration of economic nationalism in Ali Bongo. Less prosaic, other sources speak of the continuation of the “olamization” of the Gabonese economy. In the meantime, the ADL General Manager, Daniel Lefebvre, has just confirmed, after more than 30 years spent serving 21 million passengers who have transited at Libreville airport, the company signs its withdrawal.
The transition from the management of the Libreville airport to the Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ) Airpor Group is not a surprise since the concession contract binding Gabon on the one hand and, on the other hand, in Egis and Marseille Provence Airport for the management and operation of the said airport since 1988 expired on June 30 at midnight. For more than five years, ADL has attempted to renew the contract in whole or in part by proposing an investment plan of 35 billion CFA francs for the extension of the current terminal and the payment of a fee to collect on passengers. Proposals that have not received a listening ear on the side of the Waterfront Palace.
The Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ) SA is a strategic partnership between the Gabonese Republic, Olam International and Africa Finance Corporation, whose mission is to develop infrastructure to improve the country’s industrial competitiveness and build a business-friendly ecosystem.
GSEZ SA undertook the launch of a special economic zone of 1126 ha in Nkok (20 km from the capital Libreville) in 2010, after the ban on exports of raw timber, to establish a suitable ecosystem and infrastructure of at the global level, to facilitate secondary and tertiary processing of wood, as well as other natural resources in Gabon.
ADL owes its name to the first President of the Gabonese Republic, Leon Mba, (August 17, 1961 – November 28, 1967).
