Announcement of IDA Credit of 3.5 Million Dollars to Dahomey for Highways on September 9, 1970

* INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Credit No. 70/45 Subject: IDA credit of $3.5 million September 9, 1970 to Dahomey for highways A credit of $3.5 million from the International Development Association (IMA) will help to finance a road maintenance program in Dahomey. Improvement of the road network will ensure more efficient communications between the country's centers of economic activity. The project will also provide detailed engineering for road work on approximately 185 miles of the Parakou-Malanville Highway, which is part of a transport axis that is the primary trade outlet for neighboring land- locked Niger, and for two sections totaling 11 miles of the Cotonou-Bohicon road, a major artery of populous southern Dahomey. The economy of Dahomey relies heavily on its highway network for the trans- port of agricultural products to foreign and local markets. The country's most important transport axis consists of the port of Cotonou, the railway to Parakou, and the Parakou-Malanville road. The entire highway network totals approximately 4,060 miles and is generally adequate in extent and design, but proper maintenance is made difficult by lack of funds, deteLoration of equipment and inadequate organization. The project includes a program of equipment overhaul and renewal and the strengthening of the Directorate of Public Works (DPW), the government agency responsible for road construction and maintenance. The project evolved from recommendations of a land transport survey undertaken in 1967 by the United Nations Development Programme, with the World Bank as Executing Agency. The project will be executed by the DPW, with the assistance of consultants. It is scheduled to be completed in 1974 at a total estimated cost of $4.1 million, of which the foreign exchange cost of $3.5 million will be financed by the IDA credit and the remainder by the Government. The IDA credit will be extended to the Republic of Dahomey for a term of 50 years, including 10 years of grace. It will be iterest-free, but will carry a service charge of 3/4 of 1% to cover IDA's administrative costs. -0-