On 8 June 2026, in Braffédon (Grand-Lahou), Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé, on behalf of President Alassane Ouattara, officially inaugurated the sand spit stabilisation works completed under the WACA ResIP Project. Held to mark World Oceans Day, the ceremony brought together the Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition, Abou Bamba, the World Bank's Director of Operations for Côte d'Ivoire, Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, as well as representatives of Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, the project's financial partners.

For decades, Grand-Lahou's coastline retreated by one to two metres each year, while the mouth of the Bandama River shifted westward by approximately 200 metres annually, posing a direct threat to the historic village of Lahou-Kpanda.

The works included opening and stabilising a new river mouth at its natural eastern location, dredging the lagoon bed to improve fish breeding conditions, and constructing landing jetties in Braffédon, Lahou-Kpanda and Singapour. In total, 7 kilometres of coastline have been stabilised, 14 hectares of mangroves restored, and more than 150,000 people now benefit from improved protection against coastal erosion.

In his address, the Prime Minister praised the commitment of the President of the Republic and the international partners who made this major undertaking possible within just two years. He called on local communities to preserve these achievements and strengthen social cohesion to support continued investment in Grand-Lahou's development.

The World Bank's Director of Operations recalled that coastal erosion had already destroyed homes, schools and sites of significant cultural heritage. She commended the quality of the infrastructure and the technical innovations implemented, which are now serving as reference models for other WACA Programme interventions. She also announced a new phase of the programme in Côte d'Ivoire, WACA+, aimed at consolidating these achievements and further strengthening the resilience of the country's coastline.