Central Africa Regional Waterways Project

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With a population of nearly 5.4 million, the CAR is a sparsely populated, landlocked country in the heart of Africa. Despite its vast 623,000 km² area, rich in arable land, large mineral deposits, and dense tropical forests, CAR remains one of the poorest nations in Africa. Agriculture dominates the economy, employing 80% of the active population and contributing to half of the country's GDP. However, with a GDP per capita of US$ 775, CAR faces immense development challenges. In terms of social inclusion challenges, gender inequalities indeed persist in the country, as demonstrated by significant gender gaps in human capital, employment opportunities, and high levels of violence. ROC, which covers 342,000 km2 and with a population of 5.61 million, is home to the region's deepest shore port in Pointe-Noire. However, its potential as a response to neighboring countries' (CAR, DRC, Chad) need for sea access remains underutilized. Majority of the population (56%) is under 20 years old, and 52.5% live below the national poverty line. Approximately 65% of the poor reside along the Brazzaville-Pointe Noire corridor and in the major cities of Pointe Noire and Brazzaville. The economy has experienced a downturn since 2014, largely attributed to the country's substantial dependence on oil exports and subsequent oil price shocks. Gender disparities persist in the Republic of Congo. With a Gender Inequality Index (GII) of 0.564, the nation ranks 147 out of 170 countries. The transport sector remains a key enabler for CAR’s economic development, facilitating intra-community trade and its connection to neighboring countries but vastly underperforms its role. As a landlocked country, internally and regionally, roads are the main mode of transport, but road density is low, and in poor condition, hindering CAR’s integration with the region. The Congo Basin, the world's second-largest river basin, spans six countries: ROC, DRC, CAR, western Zambia, northern Angola, and portions of Cameroon and Tanzania. Many ports and piers located along the Congo and Ubangi rivers need support for managing operations and rehabilitation activities. The Congo and Ubangi rivers have been the principal trade route for CAR and Chad since the 1960s. However, the substantial decline in the navigability period for the river corridor has deviated traffic to the Bangui-Douala corridor. The means of transport on the river are very rustic, and generally in very deteriorated conditions, with regular accidents resulting in a high rate of fatality. Three public institutions oversee the development and maintenance of navigability on the Congo, Ubangi, and Sangha rivers in the Congo basin. These include the national waterways authority in DRC (Regie des Voies Fluviales - RVF), the economic interest group for common waterways maintenance (GIE-SCEVN) in CAR and ROC, and the International Commission of the Congo-Ubangi-Sangha Basin (CICOS). The proposed project supports the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Regional Integration and Cooperation Assistance Strategy updated in 2020. The proposed project also supports the CPF CAR Country Partnership Framework FY21-25 (CPF) and is aligned with CAR’s transport strategy. The ROC CPF FY20-24 emphasizes “interventions to strengthen natural resources management.” The proposed project will have five components: (i) waterways, ports, and road infrastructure improvement program (US$ 274 million), (ii) support for waterway and road sectors governance and trade facilitation (US$ 22.5 million), (iii) socially inclusive investments and capacity building for riparian communities (US$ 18.5 million), (iv) project management, implementation support, and institutional strengthening (US$15 million) and (v) Contingent Emergency Response (US$ 0).