RAIL&RIVER II

closed

The objective of the Railway and River Transport Project for Zaire is to provide means for continued improvement in operational efficiency and thus to expand the effective transport capacity of the Office National des Transports (ONATRA, the Government agency responsible for inland water services, the railway between the ports of Matadi and Kinshasa, and their operation). For the Matadi-Kinshasa railway the principal item comprises track renewal and improvements, which will reduce delays to trains and improve the utilization of rolling stock; for the connecting Kinshasa-Ilebo river service the project will provide additional barges; and for the ports there is a feasibility study to extend their capacity as part of the general expansion of the Voie Nationale. These port extensions may be financed as a subsequent Bank Group project. The economic return on the project is estimated at 28 percent on the basis of shadow pricing of foreign exchange and local unskilled labor. This return takes account of the benefits (to Zaire) of increased capacity on the all-Zaire route to the sea, and of reduced operation costs on this route as a result of the project.