[NA]

    Central African Republic: Rehabilitation project for engineering structures in the priority road network in the South-West

    Context

    For many years, the Central African Republic faced many problems which led to a serious economic crisis.  In the transportation sector, this crisis led to a drop in traffic that reached nearly 50% for all modes of transportation:  road, air and river.

    The south-western region of the country is vital as it contains many of the country’s forest and diamond resources.  The forestry sector, in which production has doubled in 10 years, is the main formal private employer and the primary taxpayer.  With the help of a support project for forestry management financed by the AFD, practically all of the forestry companies have made a commitment to developing sustainable  use of the resources. 

    In this region, getting goods to market is an onerous task, given the condition of the roads and bridges.  For transporting forest products, the losses incurred because a road was out can be very high, as the cost of transport represents nearly 50% of the sales price of wood products from the Central African Republic.  Depending on international market prices, an increase in the cost of transport could lead to forestry companies suspending or reducing their activities. 

    Content and goals

    The project consists of rehabilitating or rebuilding engineering structures in the Sangha-Mbaéré and Mambéré-Kadéï prefectures. 

    A priority programme was defined according to the amount of available resources, the evaluation of the cost of the work, the strategic importance of the structures, and how technical the work was.  Two structures need to be rebuilt and three need to be renovated.  Other structures were listed as second priority, either because there was an alternate route, or because the load of the structures was compatible with temporary forest bridges. 

    Thus the goal of the project is to ensure the continuity of the priority road network in the southwest of the Central African Republic by repairing the bridges. The project also seeks, through the conditions and commitments it brings, to contribute to improving road maintenance.

    By guaranteeing better access to this region and to the north of Congo, and by bringing them into contact with the ports of Cameroon, the project contributes to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the subject of “meeting the particular needs of land-locked States in development”.  As the roads concerned by the project are part of the priority integrating network of the CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community), the project also carries out a regional integration function and contributes to the NEPAD initiative.

    Impact

    The project seeks to re-establish road continuity, where the breakdown of one single structure can impede the network’s overall operation.  It thus guarantees the continuity of economic activity and access to health centres and administrative services as well as making it possible to obtain basic products.  It further makes it possible to reduce transportation costs and develop forestry which is vital to the country.

    The environmental impact is basically limited to the period of the work during which an Environmental Management Plan will be in effect.  An awareness-raising campaign on STDs/AIDS has been organized by management for those working on the job site and for local populations. 

    Implementation

    The expected financing will be a five million euro subsidy from the AFD to the Central African Republic. Scheduled interventions on the engineering structures can only be envisaged if the roads in question remain practicable. Regular maintenance is essential for dirt roads.  Road maintenance in the southwest is done by the forestry companies, according to the user-payer principle (wood represents 75% of transported merchandise); this is, practically speaking, the only short-term solution.  Within the framework of this project, a partnership agreement has been concluded between the Ministry of Equipment and Transport, the local authorities and private economic actors, for the most part forestry companies and transport companies. 

    In addition, new statutes are currently being reviewed for approval, in order to set up a “2nd generation” Road Maintenance Fund which is more independent and in which the majority of the private sector will sit on the Board of Administration.
     

    Updated June 9, 2006