Announcement of IDA Provides Ten Million Dollars for Highways in Mali on December 15, 1975

.World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. • Telephone: (202) 393-6360 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 75/74 DECEMBER 15, 1975 IDA PROVIDES $10 MILLION FOR HIGHWAYS IN MALI The International Development Association (IDA), an affiliate of the World Bank, has approved a credit of $10 million for a highway project in Mali. Mali's economy is primarily rural, with agriculture, live- stock, and fishing accounting for roughly half the Gross Domestic Product, and employing almost 90% of the population. An efficient transport system is vital in view of Mali's landlocked position and • the long distance between economic centers which provide access to rural areas. The Government's transport strategy has focused on developing infrastructure in support of overall economic growth, building an appropriate international network to link Mali with the coast and on promoting regional integration. The project is the third operation for IDA in the highway sector in Mali. It provides essentially for follow-up operations to the improvement of road maintenance and of agricultural feeder roads. The project will help to increase agricultural production, improve efficiency of the road transport industry and to reduce vehicle operating costs. The IDA credit to Mali is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace. It is interest-free except for a service charge of 3/4 of • 1% to cover IDA's administrative expenses . Note: Money figures are e.xpressed in US dollar equivalents. (9-75) PROJECT: T E CHNI CAL Third Highway D A T A • COUNTRY: Meli TOTAL COST: $13.4 million IDA FINANCING : $10 million, standard IDA terms OTHER FINANCING: The Government of Mali IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: The Department of Public Works (DPW), Government of Mali, Bamako, Mali. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project consists of: a) a three and a half year continua- tion of the feeder road improvement program initiated under. the First Highway Project (about 1200 kilometers should be completed); b) a three year maintenance program; c) procurement of office equipment, teaching materials and vehicles for the DPW Training Center at Bamako; and d) consultant services for (i) technical assistance to DPW for feeder road improvement, road maintenance, and staff training; and (ii) a study of a countrywide transport plan. PROCUREMENT: The two ferries ($0.6 million) which are simple in construc- tion and have to be assembled at the site will not be attrac- tive to suppliers outside those currently established in Mali. They will therefore be procured on the basis of local competitive bidding. Bitumen ($2.3 million) may be purchased from a refinery in Ivory Coast. This procurement method provides the best transport advan- tage and will be acceptable to the Association as long as price standards. Contracts for fuel ($1 million) and other items estimated to cost less than $20,000 each ($0.3 million in total), may be let on the basis of the Borrower's standard procurement procedures provided these procedures will continue to be acceptable to the Association. The four vehicles for the training center and the spare parts for the Highway Equipment Pool ($0.6 million) will be procured from licensed dealers at list prices which are reasonable. CONSULTANTS: Consultants for technical assistance will be arranged according to procedures acceptable to IDA. 135 man-months of consultants services will be financed under the Credit. ECONOMIC EVALUATION: The internal economic return of the feeder road component i . s estimated at almost 17%. The benefit/cost ratio on the back log element is estimated at more than 3. This is equivalent to a rate of return of about 120%. ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1979 -0-