The trans-continental project, which falls within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), is intended to facilitate land transportation of persons and goods.

“It is apparent that I will not be able to complete the project before my mandate as president of Senegal ends (2012), but I will at least begin with the Dakar-Bamako link, whose feasibility study has practically ended,” President Wade said in a statement.

The trans-continental railway project is among many others that are awaiting implementation within the framework of Nepad.

President Wade’s peers named him three years ago to head the infrastructural aspect which mainly consists of the trans-continental railway network.

Mobilising resources

He rebutted allegations that the implementation of the Nepad projects had been shelved due to lack of coordination, adding that they were designed to last and as such it will take time and great efforts to implement them.

The Dakar-Djibouti link is the longest and most expensive branch of the railway network, which is projected to extend southwards from Djibouti and end in Libreville.

In his statement issued in Dakar on Tuesday, President Wade regretted the manner in which the Dakar-Bamako railway link had been managed in the past.