DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - High Priority Reopening and Maintenance Project

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The High-Priority Roads Reopening and Maintenance Project for Democratic republic of Congo development objective are to reestablish lasting access between provincial capitals and districts and territories in three provinces in a way that is sustainable for people and the natural environment in the project's areas. The specific objectives are as follows: (i) re open about 1,800 kilometers of the high-priority road network and maintain them thereafter; (ii) strengthen the capacity o f the ministry and agencies involved in the road sector, including strategy and policy formulation; and (iii) help the country combine post-conflict infrastructure recovery with the protection of environment and indigenous communities such as the pygmies. There are four components to the project. The first component consists of Road Reopening and Maintenance. This component will help reestablish a land connection between the provinces of Sud Kivu and Katanga, and within the Province Orientale. The second component consists of Institutional Building. It will also support a program to help develop the road construction industry. The main actions of this latter program will be determined based on an ongoing diagnostic study that will help identify constraints to the development of the road construction industry. The third component consists of Environmental and Social Program. This component will support public institutions such as the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature-ICCN) and the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, and Tourism (MECNT) in protecting natural habitats, biodiversity, and forests and enforcing the pertaining laws. Finally the fourth component consists of Monitoring and Evaluation. This component covers monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities including the development of a road data collection system and the environmental and social program.