The World Bank, through the International Development Association, approved $100 million in financing for the Second Phase of the Roads and Bridges Management and Maintenance Project in Mozambique, which seeks to maintain, rehabilitate and upgrade the country’s classified road network for better access to all-season roads. “Improved road transportation will help stimulate the development of markets, generate growth and reduce poverty by lowering transportation costs,” said Project Task Team Leader Dieter Schelling. “It will also help in placing the country in its critical and strategic role as the transport provider for neighboring landlocked countries, while opening external markets for trade,” he added. The undertaking is a component of a 10-year growth and anti-poverty initiative. On another note, the bank is set to implement the Western Indian Ocean Marine Highway and Coastal Contamination Prevention Program, financed by an $11-million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and with an objective “to reduce risks of environmental damage to beaches, fishing grounds and other domestic resources from oil or chemical spills” in Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.
Source: Mozambique: World Bank Loan for Roads And Bridges (Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique)
