The city of Saint-Louis has taken a decisive step in its ambition to become an engine of national economic development. This Wednesday, December 17, 2025, the northern capital hosted an official mission from a South Korean delegation led by the World Council for Investment and Business (CMIA), within the framework of a strategic partnership with Senegal.

This visit took place during an institutional roundtable organized under the auspices of the Regional Development Agency (ARD), the Association of Mayors of the Department of Saint-Louis, the CMIA, and its affiliated members from the Republic of Korea. It marks a major step forward in the process of establishing the Greater Saint-Louis Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Beyond strengthening bilateral relations between Dakar and Seoul, this mission primarily illustrates the desire to make Saint-Louis a prime location for structuring investments with a strong socio-economic impact. Thanks to its strategic geographic position, its access to the Atlantic, and its land, energy, and human potential, the region intends to play a central role in Senegal's new industrial dynamic.

According to CMIA's country director for Africa, Ms. Awa Thiam, the SEZ project is the result of two years of consultation and technical studies carried out in close collaboration with the ARD and local authorities.

"Together with local stakeholders, we have identified projects capable of sustainably transforming the economy of the Saint-Louis department," she explained.

Estimated at nearly 500 billion CFA francs, the planned investments cover key sectors: an elevator assembly plant, an industrial unit for the production of electric vehicles labeled “Made in Senegal”, a gas filling unit, an industry for the production of urea from petroleum waste, the solarization of public and private buildings, as well as the development of an OFC restaurant chain.

According to Ms. Thiam, these projects will not only create many skilled and unskilled jobs, but also strengthen access to energy, improve household gas supply and promote an environmentally friendly industry.

"Saint-Louis has all the assets to become a true regional economic hub," she stressed.

Following this meeting, a detailed work plan will be drawn up to evaluate each project and define the implementation methods, in consultation with local and national authorities.

Mansour Faye, Chairman of the Joint Group and Mayor of Saint-Louis, hailed this as a "historic" opportunity for the department. He believes the future special economic zone will have a direct impact on the local, national, and international economies, contributing to the creation of sustainable jobs, the strengthening of infrastructure, and Senegal's industrial, energy, and food sovereignty.

“The Saint-Louis department is ready to welcome these investments. We are fully committed to supporting projects that will foster development across the entire region,” he declared, confirming the availability of land thanks to inter-municipal cooperation. The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will be located in the municipality of Gandon.

For his part, the director of the ARD, Ousmane Sow, sees in this initiative a lever capable of "shifting the lines" of territorial development in Senegal.

"Cooperation between communities has allowed us to overcome land constraints and build a structuring and unifying project," he said.

The Grand Saint-Louis Special Economic Zone thus aims to drive a genuine economic and industrial shift, based on a win-win partnership.

“We are not in a logic of assistance, but in a dynamic of co-construction where each party finds its interest,” concluded Ousmane Sow.