Democratic Republic of Congo - PPF of the Bukanga Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park Support Project

The proposed operation concerns an advance under the Project Preparation Facility (PPF), not exceeding UC eight hundred and forty-three thousand two hundred and two (843,202), granted to the Democratic Republic of Congo to finance studies relating to the preparation of the Bukanga-Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park (PAI-BL) programme. The Bukanga-Lonzo Agro-Industrial Park (PAI-BL) is the DRC government's first initiative to transform its agriculture in order to improve food security by reducing food imports, increase agricultural productivity and reduce poverty among its population. The success of the PAI-BL project depends to a large extent on the excellence of the structuring infrastructure that will be put in place (roads, energy, water) as well as on the pooling of the efforts of agricultural producers. PPF funding will be used to carry out a study covering the following areas: (i) technical studies of complementary structuring infrastructures. These include: a 50 km access road linking the PAI-BL to the main road (N1); an electricity distribution network; a water distribution network to supply the irrigation system, industries and residential areas; (ii) environmental and social impact studies; (iii) a study of the institutional arrangements, governance, viability and sustainability of the agro-industrial park, including the participation of small-scale producers. Activities will be spread over a maximum period of 12 months from the date of entry into force of the agreement.