France, June 21 -- In Madagascar, as in many countries on the continent, bitumen is not produced locally.

"We import the raw material that lets us make asphalt. Without bitumen, we cannot make tar," Richard Ferrazi, director of road-building company Colas, told RFI.

Alternatives are limited.

"There is an alternative, reinforced concrete, but we cannot afford it. For us, that is a luxury," said Dany Michael Ranivo, deputy general administrator of Inframad, a company that oversees building sites in the country.

Geography has traditionally shaped Madagascar's supplies. Most of the country's bitumen came from Gulf producers, shipped from the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai through the Strait of Hormuz. European supplies played only a supportin...