The African Development Bank, through its concessional finacing African Development Fund, on Thursday announced that it approved $134.71 million for water projects and infrastructure development on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
The financing consists of a loan of $16.44 million to the DRC and a $118.27 million grant to the Central African Republic. Also, the two countries and other development partners will contribute to financing the project.
The regional project, which is estimated to cost about $257 million, has three components. First, the project focuses on enhancing governance, knowledge, and infrastructure assets for water resources in the Ubangi basin. Second, the project aims to create resilient socioeconomic infrastructure to support regional integration. Lastly, it seeks to upscale the capacity of institutions of the regional and economic community.
“The project aims to improve people’s socioeconomic living conditions and resilience and the ecosystem in the Ubangi cross-border basin for the long term, against a background of climate change and increased fragility,” said the African Development Bank’s DG for Central Africa Serge N’Guessan said.
The African Development Bank reports that over 2.5 million people living in the border region will benefit directly from this project. Approximately 51% of the population in the target area are women.
The project starts in November 2024 and lasts for five years to end in November 2029.
The African Development Fund (ADF) is the AfDB’s concessional financing that supports social and economic development in least-developed countries across Africa. It provides concessional funding for programs and projects and technical assistance for research and capacity-building activities.
