Climate Resilient Roads for the North Project

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The proposed project will improve road connectivity in the Northern Provinces of Mozambique, namely Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula. It will target the upgrading, rehabilitation, and maintenance of selected secondary and tertiary roads (adopting the design and build approach), as well as the construction and rehabilitation of bridges in the secondary road network and installation of bailey bridges in the tertiary road network. The roads and bridges will adopt strong focus on climate resilience, safety, and sustainability. Community infrastructure (markets, schools, health centers, agriculture produce storage facilities) will be provided to rural population along segments of roads targeted by the project and incorporated into the works contracts. The project will prepare and adopt policies and strategies for road maintenance, including road asset management and enhancement of climate resilience in the planning and management of road transport infrastructure. The following are the proposed project components.COMPONENT 1: Climate Resilient Road Connectivity Improvement (US$119.6 million). This component will support the improvement of roads (Subcomponent 1.1) and bridges (Subcomponent 1.2) in the North. Sub-component 1.1 will finance: (i) feasibility study, design, upgrading and/or rehabilitation, maintenance and monitoring of the implementation of road works in Cabo Delgado province, and will comprise upgrading to paved standard 52 kilometers (km) of the secondary road N381 Mueda – Xitaxi and 15km of the tertiary road R762 Muepane – Quissanga, and rehabilitating 25km of paved secondary road N380 Muagamula – Xitaxi in Cabo Delgado province; (ii) feasibility study, concept design and bid documents for upgrading and/or rehabilitation of other roads in all three northern provinces for follow-on operation(s); (iii) preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), including land acquisition for road upgrading and rehabilitation in Cabo Delgado province. Sub-component 1.2 will finance the (i) feasibility study, concept design, construction and monitoring of the implementation of bridge works in Cabo Delgado province; (ii) design, supply, installation and monitoring of works implementation for bailey bridges along tertiary roads in all three northern provinces, including the construction of the substructure of the bridges; and (iii) development of a bridge rehabilitation and reconstruction program for northern Mozambique comprising preparation of feasibility study, concept design and bid documents.COMPONENT 2: Rural Access and Mobility Improvement (US$ 2.5 million). This component will help improve access to health, education and livelihoods not to mention rural mobility. It will include an integral approach to road safety. In particular Component 2 will focus on (i) the enhancement of the capacity of the INATRO on road safety regulation, inspection and supervision, and ANE on road safety engineering with a focus on the North; (ii) a pilot program on safe road infrastructure, inclusive road safety programs targeting youth, awareness-raising and dissuasive measures, and improving sex-disaggregated crash data collection with a focus on the North; (iii) first responder training for youth across project roads; (iv) a “safer route to school” pilot to improve access to schools in the North including the development of a pilot for non-motorized transport for girls and boys to improve access to schools; (v) capacity building and accreditation on road safety audit; and (vi) a study on improving transport services in rural areas in the North, including addressing the recommendations of the report. COMPONENT 3: Institutional Strengthening and Project Management (US$2.9 million). Component 3 will finance incremental operating costs and institutional strengthening activities. It will cover (i) an institutional assessment of the road sector in the North; (ii) road asset management in the North that will include information on hazards and climate risk-related data; (iii) enhancement of climate resilience in planning and management of road infrastructure in the North through a climate and disaster risk management plan; (iv) road and traffic data collection in the North; (v) preparation of a road maintenance strategy for the North; (vi) study on facilitation of public-private partnerships in road rehabilitation and maintenance in the North; (vii) development of community resilience committees led by women to support emergency disaster preparedness and response in the North; (viii) promotion of women’s employment through the provision of technical and vocational skills; (ix) skills development and livelihoods activities to provide opportunities for conflict-impacted local labor in the road works; (x) technical assistance for project implementation including procurement, financial management (FM), environmental and social (E&S) oversight, gender-based violence, axle control, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E); and (xi) diagnostics to initiate landscape restoration, conservation and climate resilience in the Quirimbas National ParkCOMPONENT 4: Contingent Emergency Response. This component will enable access to rapid financing by providing for a possible reallocation of uncommitted project funds in the event of a natural disaster, either by a formal declaration by a national or provincial government of emergency or upon a formal request from the Government of Mozambique. Component 4 will use the IDA Immediate Response Mechanism.