Announcement of Fifteen Million Dollars for Rwanda’s Highway Development on February 23, 1978

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 78/39 February 23, 1973 $15 MILLION FOR RWANDA'S HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT The International Development 'Association (IDA), an affiliate of the World Bank, has approved a $15 million credit for a Fourth Highway Project in the Republic of ~wanda. The $23.7 million project consists of: a four-year betterment program to improve 500 kilometers (km) of gravel roads, to rehabilitate or upgrade another 1,000 km of roads to gravel standards, and to seal about 100 km heavily trafficked paved roads; and a four-year maintenance program to strengthen opera- • tions on about 3,500 km of earth and gravel roads and to initiate routine main- tenance on about 350 km of paved roads. Under the project, the Road Branch of the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure will be strengthened and expanded through a training program for maintenance personnel at all levels, and prov:sion made for procurement of equipment, vehicles, workshop facilities and materials" Technical assistance necessary for project implementation will also be provided. The Fourth Highway Project is expected to result in savings in vehic1s operating costs which will accrue primarily to road users, stabil~zation of domestic freight rates due to road improvement and maintenance, and the stimula- tion of agricultural production resulting in increased foreign exchange earnings. The Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ~ and the World Food Program (WFP) are co-financers of the projectR ~--. The $15 million !DA credit to the Republic of Rwanda will be for a 50- year term, including 10 years of grace. ..; It will be interest free but will carry a service charge of 3/4 of 1% to cover IDA's administrative expenses. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. FORM NO. 1121 (5-76) T E C HN I CA L D A T A PROJECT: COUNTRY: TOTAL COST: Fourth Highway Rwanda $23 ~ 7 mi 11 ion • IDA FINANCING: $15 million, standard IDA terms OTHER FINANCING: The Federal Republic of Germany, $2.3 million; UNDP, $1.3 million; Belgium, $0.5 million; the World Food Program, $2 million; and the Government of Rwanda, $2.6 mill ion.' IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure (MINITRAPE) P.O. Box 24 Kigali, Rwanda PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project's objective is to improve the main road network by supporting the Government's road betterment program and in expanding and strengthening road maintenance operations. The main components are: a four-year betterment program to improve 500 kilometers (km) of gravel roads, to rehabil- itate or upgrade another T,000 km of roads to gravel standards, and to seal about 100 k ~ heavily trafficked paved roads; a four-year maintenance program to strengthen operations on about 3,500 km of earth and gravel roads and to initiate routine maintenance on about 350 km of paved roads; strengthening and expansion of the Road Branch through a training program for maintenance personnel at all levels, equipment, vehicles, workshop facilities, materials, and technical assistance necessary for project implementation. PROCUREMENT: Except for small amounts of equipment which will be standard- ized with existing equipment, highway maintenance equipment ($3 million) as well as machine and hand tools ($160,000) will be procured through international competitive bidding in accordance with World Bank-guidelines. Spare parts, fuel and bitumen will be procured on the basis of prices negotiated with established suppliers. Materials for the betterment program and construction of the workshops and classrooms will be procured locally on the basis of the Government's competitive bidding procedures which are acceptable to IDA. Items costing under $25,000 may be procured by negotiated purchase after solicitation of quotations from suppliers or contractors. The total amount of these purchases is not to exceed $200,000. CONSULTANTS: n.a. ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: Over 100% ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1981 - 0 - •