WASHINGTON, May 25, 2017— The World Bank today approved a $81 million International Development Association (IDA)* credit to support Rwanda’s transport sector.
The Lake Victoria Transport Project (LVTP) will help improve the efficient and safe movement of goods and people along the regional corridor from the border crossing at Rusumo to the border crossing at Nemba and Rusizi together with upgrades to road asset management and road safety in Rwanda. Over 500,000 people living along the road corridor from Kibugabuga to Gasoro are expected to benefit directly from this project. The project is expected to create of at least 500 permanent jobs for Local Community Associations through multi-year contracts for periodic maintenance of the road link.
“LVTP is expected to provide better access to rural communities living alongside the road corridor that rely almost exclusively on agriculture and livestock for their subsistence,” said Muhammad Zulfiqar Ahmed, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project. “And due to the poor state of this road, the inhabitants are occasionally cut off from the rest of the country, particularly during the rainy season.”
This project is the first project in a series of three, in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, they are part of the Lake Victoria Transport Program. It will be prepared under the Integrated Corridor Development Initiative in the East Africa Community countries.
The Ngoma-Nyanza road is an important extension to facilitate more efficient freight movements of cargo and passengers within the country and across countries, especially from Tanzania to Southern Province of Rwanda as well as Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project will stimulate new jobs and income earning opportunities to the people in Ngoma, Bugesera and Nyanza districts through upgrading and maintenance works as well as downstream development activities generated along the corridor as a result of the improved access.
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing loans (called “credits”) and grants for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 81 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change for 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 108 countries. Annual commitments have increased steadily and averaged about $15 billion over the last three years, with about 50 percent of commitments going to Africa.
