TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROJECT

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The Transport Infrastructure Investment Project specific development objective is to rehabilitate the country's major transport infrastructure in order to reduce transport cost and to facilitate trade. The project has the following four components: Component 1) The national road upgrading, rehabilitation and maintenance program aims at bringing all the primary and secondary national roads (7,313 km) to good and fair condition by end of 2008. To achieve this, total investments and maintenance finance amounting to US$642 million is required. Out of this, the Road Maintenance Fund (RMF) is planned to finance about US$70m, the Government about US$98m, other donors about US$333m (the bulk of which the EU), and IDA USS14lm. Component 2) The ports upgrading, rehabilitation and maintenance program aims at strengthening international economic activities for Madagascar. The program is planned to achieve: (i) institutional strengthening; (ii) rehabilitation of the ports of Toamasina, Mahajanga, Nosy Be, Antsiranana, Morondava; (iii) rehabilitation of the maritime signalling; (iv) environmental and coastal protection; (v) studies for the dredging of the Canal des Pangalanes to restore minimum navigational depth between Toamasina and Manakara, and to prepare the concessioning of the operational maintenance of the canal to a private operator; and (vi) a study for the construction of a new port in Fort Dauphin (the works would be financed later on by the private sector and GoM). Component 3) The Government's objective of increasing tourism and exports manufacturing, involves the following priorities for air transport: promotion of growth in the sector, infrastructure rehabilitation, modernization of airports infrastructure to accommodate future growth and acceleration of the sector reform, especially by facilitating public-private partnerships in the airports management system. Thus, the proposed project will address primarily the provision of financial requirements to facilitate public-private partnerships in the airports management system, and to increase the involvement of the private sector in the airport network. Secondly, the project will support the modernization of the airport system of Madagascar to reach international standards in safety, security and airport operations. The project will in particular focus on two key areas: financing safety and security equipment for all the airports. Component 4) will focus on general and institutional support for the Vice Prime Minister's Office (VPM).