Announcement of 4.3 Million Dollars Credit for Highway Improvements in Central African Republic on June 15, 1970

\°',;.,·El.0/•,11 1.:'t,;. • INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION ffl (~) 1818 H STREET. N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Press Release No. 70/29 Subject: $4.3 million credit for highway June 15, 1970 improvements in Central African Republic The reduction of transport costs, a vital element in the domestic and external trade of the landlocked Central African Republic, is a major aim of a highway maintenance project being assisted by the International Development Association with a credit of $4.3 million. Most of the Central African Republic's export income is derived from sales of diamonds, coffee and cotton. In the near future, forestry products are ex- • pe~ted to play a larger role in the export trade as newly granted forest con- ~essions start production. Agricultural products, such as manioc, groundnuts, sorghum and millet are also produced in sizable quantities for local consump- tion and limited export. Since the country's production centers are about 1,240 miles from ocean ports, the Gover~~~nt has placed emphasis en develop- ~~~t of an adequate road system in order to realize better terms of tradep Under the project, the Department of Public Works, the Government agency responsible for the national primary and secondary road network, will be pro·- -.rided with equipment and spare parts required for the maintenance of appro:ci- nntely 2,400 miles of roads, and its maintenance personnel will be trained. A feasibility study and detailed engineering for improvement of the 97-mile road from Bangui, the capital, to Bossembele will be carried out. This road carries the heaviest traffic flow to and from Chad, and also provides access to ~ameroon. • It links Bengui with cotton-growing regions, and is the main highway serving the northwestern part of the country, where one-third of the population lives. /mor2 IDA P.R. No. 70/29 • Central African Republic • - 2 - The project is the second operation of the World Bank Group in the Central African Republic, and is based on a highway maintenance study partly finariced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the Bank as Executing Agency. In 1969, IDA approved a credit of $4.2 million to help finance the im- provement of the 63-mile road linking Bangui to M1 Baiki, in Lobaye Province, an agricultural area. The project will be executed by the Department of Public Works, with the assistance of consultants. It is scheduled for completion in 1974 at a total cost estimated at $5.4 million equivalent, of which $4.3 raillion will be finance<l by the IDA credit and the remainder by the Government. The credit will be extended to the Central African Republic for a term of 50 years, including 10 years of grace, interest-free, but with a service charge of 3/4 of 1% to cover IDA's administrative costs. - 0 - • •