The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund has approved $134.71 million to support infrastructure development and enhance water resources along the border between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The funding, part of the African Development Bank Group’s concessional financing, includes a grant of $118.27 million to the Central African Republic and a loan of $16.44 million to the DRC. In addition to this support, both countries and other development partners will contribute to the project, which has an estimated total cost of $257 million.
The regional initiative, known as the Project to Support the Development of Infrastructure and Improvement of Cross-border Water Resources between the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (PREDIRE), consists of three key components.
The first component aims to improve knowledge, governance, and infrastructure for water resources in the Ubangi basin, located on the border of the two countries. The second component focuses on developing resilient socioeconomic water infrastructure to support regional integration. Finally, the project seeks to build the capacity of institutions at both the regional level (including the International Commission for the Congo-Ubangi-Sangha Basin and the Economic Community of Central African States) and national levels to manage, conserve, and enhance cross-border water resources. Capacity-building efforts will benefit 1,300 stakeholders and create 3,400 jobs.
“The project aims to improve people’s socioeconomic conditions and enhance resilience in the Ubangi cross-border basin in the long term, particularly in the context of climate change and increasing fragility,” emphasized Serge N’Guessan, the African Development Bank’s Director General for Central Africa.
More than 2.4 million people living in the target area, 51 percent of whom are women, will directly benefit from the program, which is set to begin in November 2024 and run for five years, concluding in November 2029.