Report No. 30039-MR No. Report Islamic Republic of Mauritania of Republic Islamic Transport Sector Ov Sector Transport erview Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Document of the World Bank World Document of the Sector (AFTTR) Transport Africa September 29, 2004 Sector Overview Transport Islamic Republic of Mauritania Report No. 30039-MR Acknowledgements This report was prepared by a team led by Alexandre K. Dossou, Senior Highway Engineer - AFTTR, which comprised Pierre Pozzo di Borgo, Senior Transport Specialist - AFTTR, Felly Kaboyo, Senior Program Assistant - AFTTR, Meriem Tamarzizt, Intern - MinesPonts, Brahim Ould Abdelwedoud, Municipal Engineer, AFTU2 and Aoufa Ezzedine, Consultant. It was prepared in close collaboration with the Africa Transport Management and the Mauritania World Bank’s Country Office. The report benefited greatly from extensive comments provided by Jean Charles Crochet, Senior Transport Economist - MNSIF, Christian Diou, Senior Municipal Engineer - AFTU2, Stephen Brushett, Senior Transport Specialist - AFTTR, Olivier Le Ber, Senior Transport Specialist - ECSIE (peer reviewers); C. Sanjivi Rajasingham, Sector Manager - AFTTR, Alain Labeau, Lead Specialist - AFTTR, Yves Duvivier Country Manager - AFMMR. Contents ... Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 111 1. Background ................................................................................................................................ 1 2 . Objectives of the ESW ............................................................................................................... 3 3 .Transport Sector Role and Challenges .................................................................................... 3 4 . Transport Sector Issues ............................................................................................................. 3 Road Transport ............................................................................................................................ 3 General Characteristics of the Road Network ......................................................................... 3 Financing for Road Construction and Maintenance ................................................................ 6 Road Network Management and Regulation .......................................................................... 9 Trucking Industry .................................................................................................................. 10 Rail Transport ........................................................................................................................... 11 Air Transport ............................................................................................................................. 12 Airport Infrastructure and Operations ................................................................................... 12 Air Transport Operators ........................................................................................................ 15 Air Transport Regulation ...................................................................................................... 17 Maritime Transport ................................................................................................................... 18 Port Infrastructures and Operations ....................................................................................... 18 Port Operators ....................................................................................................................... 21 Maritime Sector Regulation .................................................................................................. 23 River Transport ......................................................................................................................... 23 5 . Transport Fiscal System and Infrastructure Cost Recovery ............................................... 23 6 . Cross-cutting Issues ................................................................................................................. 25 Transport and Poverty ............................................................................................................... 25 Transport and Safety ................................................................................................................. 25 Trade and Transport .................................................................................................................. 26 Regional Integration and Transport Facilitation ....................................................................... 26 Institutional Capacity ................................................................................................................ 27 Public-Private Partnerships ...................................................................................................... 27 Environmental and Social Dimensions of Transport ................................................................ 28 7 . Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 28 Road Transport .......................................................................................................................... 28 Road infrastructures .............................................................................................................. 28 Transport Services ................................................................................................................. 29 Air Transport ............................................................................................................................. 30 Maritime Transport ................................................................................................................... 31 Institutional Capacity ................................................................................................................ 32 i Annexes: Annex 1. Status of NTP Investment Projects at Midterm................................... 33 Annex 2 . Road Infrastructure Investment Program.......................................... 35 11 Executive Summary 1. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Mauritania was adopted by the Government on December 13, 2000. The main PRSP objectives for general transport policy are: (i)lower costs and ensure safe transport for passengers and goods; (ii)foster consistent national planning(?) through multimodal links between the country’s major development centers; (iii) promote national integration and linkages with the global economy; and (iv) involve more private capital in financing the sector. The PRSP also includes specific objectives for transport modes, which are taken into account in this Economic and Sector Work (ESW). ii. The World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for fiscal 2003-2005 was prepared in 2001 on the basis of: (i)the PRSP framework; (ii)a focus on capacity building; (iii)a programmatic approach; and (iv) fiduciary issues. PRSCs are expected gradually to make up a larger part of the lending program, although the World Bank will continue with select investment projects that target poverty reduction, institutional strengthening, and core diagnostic ESW. iii. The last World Bank funded transport project in Mauritania was completed in 1996. Since then, support to the transport sector has been provided by other donors, especially the European Union (EU). Because the World Bank is now considering resuming its support to the sector, this ESW has been prepared with a view to identify the steps required to strengthen the contribution of the transport sector to economic growth and to achieving the transport-related objectives ofthe PRSP. iv. More specifically, the purpose of this ESW is to : (i)provide a framework to help the Government analyze transport sector issues and develop a transport sector strategy for the 2004- 2009 period ; and (ii)identify issues and challenges that can be addressed through donor funded operations. This ESW focuses on road, air, and maritime transport and analyzes strategic and cross-cutting issues important to the sector as a whole. v. This ESW will be supplemented by two more comprehensive studies planned to begin shortly-the EU-funded Road Management and Investment Program Study; and the World Bank-financed Transport Sector Strategy Study. The latter will focus on the non-road transport modes and take into consideration the findings ofthe EU-funded study. Road Sector Findings vi. The present road classification is based on Law No 68-244 dated July 30, 1968, regarding the creation of national road network, that determined that Mauritania’s road network is 10,300 km long, with about 2,400 km of paved roads. Its overall condition is not known because of a lack of data. The condition of paved roads is known to be satisfactory, however, with about 70 percent in good to fair condition, compared with an average of 65 percent for paved roads in the ... 111 rest of West Africa. Earth roads are generally in bad condition, although precise data are not available to confirm this observation. vii. Since decentralizationcame into effect, responsibility for maintainingthe road network is divided between the central government and local communities. In fact, only the central government has resources to maintain the road network, leaving large