Monthly Blog- March 2025
James Whitmee
This week I am in Cotonou, Benin. I was last here almost 20 years ago and the place is quite different.
As Benin’s commercial capital, Cotonou has seen growing demand for office space, especially in areas like Haie Vive, Ganhi, and the city centre, where embassies, banks, NGOs, multinational companies, and government agencies concentrate.
The development of new office buildings, often targeting higher-end tenants, has picked up in recent years, driven by both local and foreign investors responding to an improving business climate and increased regional trade.
There are also a number of very significant Government and Port related projects that will introduce more office space to the market. Whilst this will not in itself create more supply to the general market, it will free up other buildings from which Government and Port related businesses may relocate.
Those projects are principally:
Cité Ministerielle
New development, almost completed, between the US Embassy and Independence Square aimed at centralizing Benin’s ministerial offices. It comprises 70,000 sq m of office construction on 5 hectares of land which is intended to house 21 Ministries.
Centre des Affaires Maritimes de Cotonou
This is a new development by Port Autonome de Cotonou (PAC) which is costing around USD 75 million and comprises three office blocks which will consolidate public and private port related businesses in the city. It appears to be around 6 months off completion.
Otherwise, the market remains relatively underdeveloped compared to larger West African cities like Lagos or Abidjan. A significant portion of office space is still informal or adapted from residential properties.
ESG-related matters are gaining attention in the market, but local developers focused on quick returns may deprioritize this unless required by clients or banks.
Older but good buildings such as MTN tend to be priced at around XOF 7,000 /sq m /month. To an extent this pricing reflects the fact that rents have been agreed historically.
