FIE COPY Report No. PTR-La
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eTUvRN TO RESTRICTED REPORTS DESK FIECOPY Report No. PTR-la \VITHIN ONE WEEK This report was prepared for use within the Bank and its affiliated organizations. Public Disclosure Authorized They do not accept responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.The report moy not be published nor may it be quoted as representing their views. INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION Public Disclosure Authorized APPRAISAL OF A HIGHWAY PROJECT CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Public Disclosure Authorized March 11, 1969 Public Disclosure Authorized Transportation Projects Department Currency &quivalents: Currency Unit = CFA Franc (CFAF) CFAF 1 - US$.004 US$1 - CFAF247 CFAF1 million =us$4,o5o Fiscal Year: January 1 to December 31 Weights and Measures: Metric Metric: British/USEquivalent 1 kilometer (km) = 0.62 miles (mi) 1 meter (m) = 3.28 feet (ft) 1 hectare (ha) =2.47 acres (ac) 1 liter (1) =0.22 imp. gallons - 0.26 gallons (US) 1 metric ton (m ton)= 2,204 pounds (lbs) Abbreviations- Acronyms ATEC - Agence Transequatorialedes Communications CAR - Central African Republic CFCO Railway - Chemin de Fer Congo-Ocean DPW - Directorate of Public Works FAC - Fonds d'Aide et de Cooperation FED - Fonds Europeen de Developpement LUDP - United Nations Development Program CENTRALAFRICAN REPUBLIC APPRAISAL OF A HIGUHWAYPROJIT Table of Contents Page SUMMARY i 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. BACKGROUND 2 A. General 2 B. The Transport Sector 2 3. THE HIGHdAY SECTOR 6 A. The Highway Network 6 B. Characteristies and Growth of Road Traffic 6 C. Highway Administration 6 D. Highway Planning and Finance 7 E. Highway Engineering and Construction 7 F. Maintenance 8 4. THE PROJECT 9 A. Description 9 B. Cost Estimates 10 C. Execution and Financing il 5. ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION 13 A. Service Area of the Bangui-M'baikiRoad 13 B. Traffic 1h C. Economic Benefits 15 6. RECOMMENDATION 16 This report was prepared by Messrs. A. Bergan and R.H. Snel, Engineers, and T. Oursin, Economist. Table of Contents -2- TABIES 1. Port of Bangui,traffic 1961-1967 2. Road User Charges and Road M5aintenance Costs 3. Highway Network: Road Class and Responsibility for Maintenance 4. Compositionof VehicleFleet 5. Importsof Gasolineand DieselFuel 6. Importsof Vehiclesand Tires 7. Bangui-M'baikiRoad: DesignStandards 8. Basic data for calculationof economiccosts and benefits MAPS Central African Republic Road System Central African Republic International Transport CENTRALAFRICAN REPUBLIC APPRAISAL OF A HIGHWAYPROJECT SUMMARY i. The Government of the Central African Republie (CAR) has requested IDA assistancein financinga highway project consistingof: ti) the reconstruction of the Bangui-M'baikiroad (102 km); and (ii) the provision of equipment to maintain the road. ii. The total cost of the project, including contingencies,is esti- mated at about US$5.6 million equivalent. The foreign exchange component is estimated at about US$4.2 million equivalent and will be financed from the proposed credit which will be the first lending operation by either the Bank or the Association in the CAR. Local currency requirements will be provided by the Government. iii. Detailed engineeringof the project road was carried out by con- sultants SAUTI (Italy) in 1965/66 under a FED agreement but had to be supple- mented by the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) in 1968. The project in- eludes financing of the foreign exchange costs of these supplementary engineeringworks and the cost of prequalificationof the total of con- tracting firms by consultants, which amounts to US$23,000. iv. Design standards are satisfactory;contracts for constructionand the procurement of highway maintenance equipmentwill be on the basis of internationalcompetitive bidding procedures. Supervisionof the project will be by the Directorateof Public Works. V. The economic evaluationof the project is based on a report prepared by consultantsSAUTI, which were engaged at the Bank's expense at the end of 1967. Reconstructionof the project road, which is one of the most important highway links of the country, will produce savings in vehicle operating costs yielding an economic return of about 14% in directly measurablebenefits. vi. Two UNDP financed surveys are being carried out in the CAR, covering a road maintenance study for the entire road network, a feasibility study for the Sibut-Bambari road and a regional transport survey for the CAR and Cameroon. Preliminaryresults of the last study indicate that the Bangui-M'baikiroad will be the first section of a recommended link between Bangui and Douala, Cameroon'sport at the Atlantic Ocean. vii. The project provides a suitable basis for an IDA Credit of US$4.2 million to the Government of the CAR. CENTRALAFRICAN REPUBLIC APPRAISAL OF A HIGIWAYPROJECT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Early in 1966 the Government of the Central African Republie (CAR) requested IDA assistance in financingpart of its highway program. As a result of this request, the Bank engaged at its own expense in late 1967 the Italian Consulting Engineering firm SAUTI to study the economic justification of rehabilitating the Bangui-M'baiki Road. This study and subsequent discussions with the Government have led to a request to IDA to finance a project which comprises: a. Reconstruction of the Bangui-M'baiki Road (102 km), including (i) supplementary engineering works carried out by the Directorate of Public Works (DPW); and, (ii) supervision of construction works by the DPW; b. Provision of equipment to maintain the road. 1.2 The Bank is the executing agent for two UNDP studies now being carried out in the country: (i) a regional transport survey in the southwestern part of the country and the adjacent part of Cameroon uzdertaken jointly by the consulting firms NEDECO (Netherlands)and BCEOM(France); and, (ii) a feasibilitystudy to be followed by final engineering for the reconstruction of the Sibut-Bambari Road, combined with the preparation of a program for improv- ing road maintenance operations for the entire road network of the CAR. The consultants are Research and Development (Belgium). The result of the studies will assist the Government of the Central African Republic in the planning of the transport infrastructure of the southwestern region and in the preparation of the maintenance budget for the next five years (see paras. 2.9 and 3.14). 1.3 The proposed credit would be the first lending operation in the CAR by either the Bank or the Association. 1.h This report is based on engineeringand economic studies carried out by SAUTI, supplementary engineering works and cost estimates prepared by the DPW and the findings of missions which visited the country in Octo- ber 1967, and in February and October 1968. The last mission consisted of 4ossrs.Bergan and Snel (Engineers)and T. Oursin (Economist). This report was prepared by the members of this last mission. - 2 - 2. BACKGROUND A. General 2.1 The Central African Republic, under French administrationuntil 1960, is a landlocked country in the heart of Africa (see Maps). It covers an area of about 625,000 m2, about twice the size of Italy. The country lies on the northern edge of the Congo river basin. It is bordered on the north by Chad, the east by the Sudan, the south by the two Congos and the west by Cameroon. In the southern part numerous water courses feed the Oubangui River, a tributary of the Congo. The rivers in the north flow ultimately into Lake Chad. The climate is tropical, with a rainy season from April to November. 2.2 In 1966 the population was estimated at about 1.r million, with a very low overall density of about two inhabitantsper km . The main pop- ulation centers, which account for more than one-quarterof the total pop- ulation, are increasing in size as migration from rural areas continues, whereas large areas in the northeast of the country are virtually uninhabited. Population growth is estimated at about 2% per annum. 2.3 Subsistence agriculture is the dominant factor in the economy of the CAR. Cotton and coffee are the main export crops but the quantities involved are relatively small. Coffee production, about 11,000 tons in 1966 and 9,000 tons in 1967, has varied over the years due principallyto weather conditions. Cotton exports reached a peak of about 16,000 tons of lint in 1958/59 but declined during the early years of independence to about 8,000 tons in 1966. In the recent past, the Government has made strenuous efforts to reverse the trend; as a result, cotton exports went up to 12,000 tons in 1967. The country is rich in timber but exploitationis handicapped by lack of transport and by long distances to the coast. Diamond mining has been contributing increasingly to the growth of the economy during the present decade; recorded diamond exports have risen from US$1.7 million equivalentin 1960 to approximately US$17 million equivalent in 1967 when they represented about 50% of all exports. 2.4 Existing national income statistics are insufficientfor a detailed analysis of recent trends and developments. The annual growth of the monetary GDP (at 1961 prices) which was about 8% from 1956 to 1961, slowed down to an average of less than 3% in the years thereafter but gained momentum in 1966 and 1967. Total GDP per capita at current market prices was estimated at about CFAF 28,000 (US$110)in 1967. B. The Transport Sector (a) InternationalTransport 2.5 Being a landlocked country, the CAR depends on facilities in its neighboring countries for international transport. There are at present two principal trade routes to ports on the Atlantic Ocean: - 3 - (i) by river from Bangui to Brazzaville(1,300 km) and thence by rail to Pointe Noire (515 km); and, (ii) by road from Bangui to Yaounde (1,100 km) and thence by rail to Douala (309 km).