WASHINGTON, January 12, 2017—The World Bank Board of Directors approved a $20 million credit to Burkina Faso today. The new credit will support theTransport Sector Modernization and Corridor Trade Facilitation Project (PAMSOET), a technical assistance project aimed at improving the efficiency and safety of transport services on the Burkinabe section of the Ouagadougou-Abidjan road transport corridor. The Project will complement the Transport Sector Modernization and Corridor Trade Facilitation Project for the Ivoirian section of the Ouagadougou-Abidjan Corridor.
“Burkina Faso’s development depends on joining regional integration initiatives aimed at promoting competitiveness in a single community area, overcoming trade barriers and reducing transport and energy costs. Lowering transport costs would affect the price of imports and basic goods, including food, thus improving living conditions, particularly for the poorest people,” said Cheick Kanté, World Bank Country Manager for Burkina Faso.
The reforms were identified as part of development policy operations and are financed by two series of Regional Trade Facilitation and Competitiveness Credits (RTFCC) for Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. The latest series was approved by the World Bank in December 2016.
“This project is critical,” saidFabio Galli, the World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the project. “By combining the actions planned as part of the Project with the actions under the Ivoirian component, we will be able to improve efficiency and safety on the Burkinabe section of the Corridor.”
“Furthermore, the medium-term capacity building made possible by the Project, combined with short-term policy reform as part of the RTFCC operations, should facilitate the creation of an appropriate institutional framework and encourage both countries to ensure that the Corridor works as efficiently and safely as possible,”said Aguiratou Savadogo-Tinto, World Bank co-Task Team Leader for the project.
