The Central African Republic Major business and development opportunities Ministry of Planning, Economy and International Cooperation New Delhi, March 2011 Page 1 Contents A. Natural resources and opportunities B. Development challenges C. Development opportunities D. Areas of cooperation with the Indian Industrial Page 2 CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Situated in the heart of Africa Chad CAR Cameroon Gabon Equat. Guinea Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Burundi Angola 623.000 km 2 4.200.000 inhabitants Economic Community of Central African States Page 3 A. Natural resources and opportunities Page 4 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Climatic zones SUDAN Birao CHAD Ndélé Kaga- Bandoro Bria Bozoum Bossangoa Bouar Bambari Sibut Obo Bangassou Berbérati Mobaye BANGUI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Mbaïki Nola CONGO Guinean-Forest CAMEROON Sudanese-Oubagienne Prefecture Sudanese-Sahel Main city Sahel-Sudanese Page 5 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Hydro network lé Aouka ou ul Oubangui basin in the South: 404 mille km² O r ah SUDAN CHAD B Birao Chari basin in the North: 202 mille km² Ouandja Bahr Aouk Ch ari B a m Ndélé i n g u i ré b é M Kaga- m a h Bandoro u O Bria C Bozoum Bossangoa h i n k Bouar o Bambari K O N Sibut o Obo a M u t na t o ’P a M k ok b a o a r i L o b u a Mbomo y e Bangassou Berbérati Mobaye BANGUI M a Oubangui Kadeï m DEMOCRACTIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO b é Mbaïki r Nola é S a CONGO n g CAMEROON h Hydrometric station a Prefecture 2nd order Falls Main city 7th order Watershed Chad-Congo Page 6 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Hydro network Photo Align with top grey line and bottom black bar Photo caption with details such as place, time. Always align with guides on bottom! Page 7 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Vegetation and wildlife SUDAN Birao CHAD Ndélé Kaga- Bandoro Bria Bozoum Bossangoa Bouar Bambari Sibut Obo Bangassou Berbérati Mobaye BANGUI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Mbaïki Nola Tropical forest Tropical and sub-tropical forest CONGO Savanna (wood) CAMEROON Savanna (grass) Prefecture Pseudo steppe Main city Steppe Page 8 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES 15 reserves of fauna and flora and 5 natural parks Reserves 6 Vassako-Bolo 7 Gribingui-Bamingui 8 Aouk-Aoukalé SUDAN 9 Nana-Barya Birao 10 Yata-Ngaya 11 Zémongo 8 12 MAB CHAD 3 13 Botambi Gounda 14 Bodingué 10 15 Dzangha-Sangha 2 5 National parks 1 1 Bamingui-Bangoran Ndélé 2 Manovo-Gounda-Saint-Flori 6 3 André-Félix 7 4 Dzanga-Ndoki 9 5 Awakaba Bamingui Kaga- Bandoro 11 Bria Bozoum Bossangoa Bouar Bambari Sibut Obo Bangassou Berbérati Mobaye Forest (classed) BANGUI 13 National park Mbaïki 14 12 Presidential park Nola DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Prefecture Reserve 4 Main city Special forest reserve BayangaCONGO CAMEROON 15 Hunting camp Integrated reserve 4 Tourist camp Forestry zone ECOFAC base Hunting area Page 9 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES A Salina, in a reserve forest area Photo Align with top grey line and bottom black bar Photo caption with details such as place, time. Always align with guides on bottom! Page 10 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Rare species of dwarf elephant in southern Photo Align with top grey line and bottom black bar Photo caption with details such as place, time. Always align with guides on bottom! Page 11 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Specialized activities in different climatic zones Zones: Diversity of activities Key facts • South : forestry, agriculture, reserves • Dense equatorial forest: 5.4 million Equatorial climate with 9 months of rainy hectares of which 3.5 millions under season and 3 months of dry season, management tropical rainforest • Numerous reserves and animal parks • Centre : agriculture, livestock, tourism • Rare wild flowers and birds Tropical climate with 6 months of rainy Agriculture: 15 million hectares of arable season, 3 months of dry season and 3 land of which less than 1% farmed months transition, sub-tropical vegetation • Cattle population of more than 2.5 million • North : agriculture, reserves and parks • Abundant minerals throughout the Savannah climate with predominance of country the dry season • Natural parks throughout the territory Page 12 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Strong potential in mining and forestry Photo Align with top grey line and bottom black bar Photo caption with details such as place, time. Always align with guides on bottom! Page 13 A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES Mining and resources Resources in CAR Amperite Slate See legend for full list of natural resources Hc Clay SUDAN Limestone Birao Cr Chrome Hc Co Cobalt Ct Columbite-tantalite De CHAD Disthene Dolomite Etain Mn Co Granite Hc Hydrocarbon Laterite Ndélé Lignite Mn Manganese Marble Pyrite Quartz Kaga- Quartzite Thorium Ct Zr Ct Zr Bandoro Ti Titanium Bria Tourmaline Bozoum Bossangoa Zinc Zr Zirconium Bouar De Bambari Sibut Obo Cr Co Mn Bangassou Berbérati Ti Mobaye BANGUI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO Mbaïki Nola CONGO Prefecture Diamond Copper CAMEROON Main city Ore Nickel Diamond mining zones Iron Uranium Page 14 B. Development challenges Page 15 B. DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES Development challenges History, geography, climate change and infrastructure • Legacy of the past : Political instability, social unrest and degradation of social indicators • Land-locked country without access to the sea: Weak economic regional integration and difficulty to turn strategic central location into an advantage • Climate change implications: The Central African forest is part of the Congo basin, the world’s 2 nd largest green lung after the Amazon • Lack of basic infrastructure (main constraints : energy, communication and transport facilities) (i) Energy – Rate of access to electricity 3%, only one power station with a production of 18 MW, while needs of capital Bangui plus surroundings alone are higher than 25 MW – Boali 3: three damns already built, but no turbines installed – More than 30 large rivers, including numerous water falls and rapids with huge hydroelectric potential (ii) Transport – Road network of 24.000 km, of which 4.000 km national (only 700 km tarmac) with limited accessibility – Only airport of international standards, 41 public and 2 private airfields poorly maintained – No railroad connection, but two axis (to Port Sudan in Sudan and Belabo in Cameroon) to be constructed Page 16 C. Development opportunities Page 17 C. DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES Important steps towards political stability and economic stabilization since 2003 Peace-building and consolidation Economy: stabilisation and recovery • Return to peace and political stability since • Macro-economic stabilization programme 2003 based on (PRGF) and re-engagement of the – Constitutional law international community (IMF, World Bank, – Ongoing social and political dialogue AfDB, HIPC) to support poverty reduction strategy – Strengthening the democratic process by organizing legislative and presidential • Multi-sector reforms in public finance, governance elections in January and March 2011. and resource management • Peace-building strategy focussed on • Positive results since 2003 : but fragile due to – Global peace agreements week growth and exposure to various schocks – Security sector reform • Completion point of HIPC and improved debt profile – Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants • Business environment : opportunities for large- scale public-private partnerships or Foreign Direct Investment Page 18 C. DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES Strategies Set the foundations for a strong economic recovery, aiming at 2-digit growth • Strong focus on: – Rural development (Agriculture, Breeding and Food security) – Natural endowments (Mining, Forestry and Tourism) – Telecommunication and Services – Economic logistics (Energy, Opening up pathways within and outside such as road, air, river and rail) • Increasing importance of private sector support: – Public-private partnerships – Improving the business environment – Financing of the economy • Transforming Central African Republic in inter-regional economic zone : Centrally located in Africa the country can be specialized in transit services for various african economic communities. Page 19 D. Areas of cooperation with the Indian Industrial Page 20 D. COOPERATION AND PERSPECTIVES Focus on selected sectors The private sector and infrastructure • Investments in productive sectors such as : – Agriculture, Breeding and Food security – Mining – Forestry – Tourism and culture • But also in basic infrastructure to unlock CAR’s full economic potentials – Energy – Transport facilities : road, river, air and rail Page 21 D. COOPERATION AND PERSPECTIVES Conclusion •A new platform for dialogue : Poverty reduction for strategy 2011-2013 and beyond : Roundtable conference to be organized in June 2011. •Approch : - Diversification and depening of development partnerships - Role of the private sector •An opportunity : Partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry. Page 22 CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Page 23.