Public Disclosure Authorized

PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)

APPRAISAL STAGE
Report No.: AB3344
CONGO DRC - Pro-Routes Project
Project Name
Region AFRICA
Sector Roads and highways (100%)
Project ID P101745
Public Disclosure Authorized

Borrower(s) Congo, Democratic Republic of

Implementing Agency
Ministry of Infrastructure, Public Works and Reconstruction
Congo, Democratic Republic of

Environment Category [X] A [ ] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined)

Date PID Prepared December 12, 2007
Date of Appraisal October 22, 2007
Authorization
Date of Board Approval March 18, 2008

1. Country and Sector Background

Public Disclosure Authorized

1. After a decade of conflict and mismanagement, the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of
the poorest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of US$120 in 2005. Since 2001,
important economic reforms have been undertaken and have led back to economic growth after
10 years of recession. However, perspectives of development are seriously impeded by a high
systemic corruption – the country ranks 158th among 163 according to Transparency
International – and a lack of all basic infrastructures throughout the country.

2. As a result of many years of neglect, mismanagement and the recent civil war, most of the
country’s physical infrastructure is in a very poor state. In a country as large as the Eastern
Europe, there are less than 600 km of paved roads and only one provincial capital among 10 is
connected by road to the capital city Kinshasa. The majority of the DRC’s road network is
impassable even during the dry season. Access to markets and social and administrative services
Public Disclosure Authorized

for most of the rural population is severely curtailed due to non-existent transport services, which
in turn is due to the bad condition of roads.

3. The country confirmed in July 2006 with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) its
willingness to invest in transport infrastructures rehabilitation to sustain growth (Pillar 2:
Macroeconomic stability and growth) while at the same time protecting the environment. The
PRSP sets as a goal to ensure economic integration within the country by rehabilitating its road
network.

4. At the same time, the government and its development partners recognize that the
rehabilitation of road infrastructures is likely to facilitate access to extractive activities, the
forests and other natural ecosystems, in a country holding the second largest rainforest in the
world. They actively seek to combine post-conflict recovery with protection of the country’s
unique ecosystems and pygmies populations.

5. The total road network in DRC is about 152,000 km long but only exists on maps. The
national and provincial road network is about 95% unpaved and about 58,000 km long, from
which the government has identified a 15,000 km high-priority network. Were it not for the
name, this high priority network would barely qualify as a poor tertiary network in its present
condition. Only 5-10% of the national and provincial network is in good to fair condition. The
rest is impassable and in need of rehabilitation. The financial needs to rehabilitate the high-
priority network are estimated up to US$ 650 million.

6. Although there is an urgent need for restoring land communications, the government and its
development partners agree that it is also critical that the reopening of roads go hand-in-hand
with key reforms in road maintenance operations and environmental, social and fiduciary
safeguards mechanisms. The collapse of the transport system in DRC is a result of the
deterioration of both physical infrastructure and the poor performance of technical institutions in
charge of its management and maintenance. None of the technical institutions functions at the
levels required to adequately manage the transport system, and in particular to ensure its
maintenance. This is mostly due to a lack of financial resources for ten consecutive years, which
has resulted in outdated technical knowledge and management tools, lack of equipment, and
drain of qualified and experienced staff. Institutional strengthening is therefore vital for the long
term sustainability of any newly rehabilitated infrastructure in DRC and for associated activities
such as environmental protection.

7. In this context, the willingness of the government to create a Road maintenance Fund is of
strategic importance to ensure stable flows of funds to cover road maintenance needs and an
enabling climate for the development of the road construction industry.

2. Objectives

8. The proposed project will help the country achieve its physical reunification by linking the
provinces of DRC and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction through re-
establishing lasting access between provincial capitals and districts.

9. The proposed project’s development objective is to re-establish lasting access between

provincial capitals and districts and territories in three provinces in a way that is sustainable for
people and the natural environment in the area of influence of the operation.

10. The specific objectives are to: (i) re-open about 1,800km of the high priority road network
and maintain them thereafter; (ii) strengthen the capacity of the ministry and agencies involved
in the road sector including in strategy and policy formulation; and (iii) help the country combine
post-conflict infrastructure recovery with the protection of environment and indigenous
communities such as the pygmies.

3. Rationale for Bank Involvement

11. The draft Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) from November 2007 confirms that the Bank
Group will help rehabilitate transport infrastructure to support efforts to achieve high, sustained
and shared economic growth. It also highlights that these investments should be coupled with
policy and institutional reforms. The CAS also targets improved forest management, protection
of biodiversity and consistent land use planning. The proposed project, consistent with the above
CAS concerns, addresses road management and maintenance reforms and contains a specific
component to mitigate the adverse impact of road re-opening on forest management, biodiversity
and land use.

12. To face the huge challenge in the road sector, IDA and DFID have joined forces to support
Pro-routes, through a MultiDonor Trust Fund (MDTF) administered by the Bank. Together,
DFID and the World Bank leverage US$ 120 million and expect to attract other donors in the
MDTF. The MDTF is fully compliant with the CAS orientation to move toward harmonization
with other donors and help the country benefit from large-scale assistance programs.

4. Description

The Pro-routes project comprises four components:

ƒ Component 1: Road reopening and maintenance

13. The goal is to reopen as many roads as possible within the allocated budget using minimum
technical standards and maintaining them thereafter over the project implementation period. This
component will focus on 1,800km of the high-priority road network serving highly populated
regions in two groups of adjacent provinces.

14. The MIPWR has identified the following sections: Kisangani-Buta-Bondo-Bunduki (620 km)
crossing the Orientale province, and Uvira-Kasomeno (1180 km) crossing the Sud-Kivu and
Katanga provinces.

15. Given the limited number of medium-size contractors in DRC and the remote areas targeted
by the project, the project roads will be reopened using 2 approaches: (i) force account through
the Office des Routes; and (ii) contracting out to private firms. At the same time, a proactive
program to develop the domestic road construction industry will be undertaken under the project
with a goal of ultimately contracting out all road works. All routine maintenance works will be
contracted out.

ƒ Component 2: Institutional strengthening

16. To foster long-term sustainability, the project will be managed and implemented by existing
entities of the Ministry of Public Works, Infrastructure, and Reconstruction (MPWIR): the
Cellule Infrastructures (CI) and the Office des Routes (OdR) respectively.
17. The transfer of responsibilities to the MPIWR will go hand-in-hand with a capacity building
program and the necessary fiduciary safeguards mechanisms. The second component of the
project will (i) help the MIPWR formulate sound sector policy and strategy, (ii) will fund the
provision of technical assistance to the Cellule Infrastructures (CI), the Office des Routes (OdR)
and the Road Maintenance Fund (under creation), (iii) will support a training program within the
CI and the OdR and (iv) will support a program to develop the road construction industry.

ƒ Component 3: Social and Environmental Program

18. The objective of this component is to enhance the positive socio-economic aspects of the
project and to mitigate the potential negative social and environmental impacts. It also aims to
pilot and test new approaches for mainstreaming environmental protection into infrastructure
programs.
19. This component will (i) support the strengthening of the implementing agency, the Cellule
Infrastructures and the Road agency, the Office des Routes, (ii) will help recruit a renowned
experienced international NGO to implement the social activities and assist the Ministry for
environment (MECNT) and the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) to
fulfill their mandates. This NGO will provide MECNT and ICCN field offices with training,
equipment, methodological support, and third-party monitoring, and will develop partnerships
with local civil society organizations.

ƒ Component 4: Monitoring and evaluation

The fourth component covers monitoring and evaluation including the development of a road
data collection system

5. Financing
Source: ($m.)
BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0
IDA Grant 50
UK: British Department for International Development (DFID) 70
Total 120

6. Implementation

a. Partnership arrangements

20. The program being trust-funded, the level of partnership between funding agencies (DFID
and World Bank) will be high. This project is designed in such a way as allowing the inclusion
of additional partners and their resources. Indeed some partners for development of DRC have
expressed their interest to join a project aimed at rebuilding the road infrastructures and the
institutional entities to manage them properly.
b. Institutional and implementation arrangements

21. The executing agency is the Ministry of Infrastructure, Public Works and Reconstruction
(MIPWR), under which the Cellule Infrastructures (CI) will act as the project implementation
unit. Among public institutions, key actors for the success of the project are: Office des Routes
(OdR), the road agency under MIPWR, the Ministry of Environment (MECNT), the ICCN and
the concerned Provincial Authorities (Orientale, Sud-Kivu and Katanga provinces).

7. Sustainability

22. Sustainability will be highly dependent on effective road maintenance meaning stable
funding, available qualified contractors, and adequate contract management capacity.
Maintenance funds for the 1,800 Km roads reopened under the project will be provided by the
project itself over its life span. Domestic contractors will be informed, trained and supported
under the project. Sustainability issues will come up after the project as historically the
government has allocated little, if any, resources to road maintenance. For that reason, an area of
focus of the project is the establishment of financial mechanisms that will ensure sufficient,
timely, stable and secure flows of funds to cover road maintenance needs, and an enabling
climate for the development of the construction industry. The project will therefore help
strengthen the capacity of the Road Maintenance Fund to be created, the private sector, the
Office des Routes, and Cellule Infrastructures.

23. Secondly, sustainability means applying sound environmental and social safeguards
measures. Environmental sustainability will be managed through strengthening of the agencies
involved in environmental and forest management and nature conservation, such as MECNT and
ICCN. These agencies will be responsible for the implementation of the Environmental
Management Plan, environmental monitoring and strict law enforcement after project closure. It
is expected that improved law enforcement would mitigate the more serious long-term indirect
environmental impacts of illegal logging, forest encroachment and biodiversity depletion

8. Lessons Learned from Past Operations in the Country/Sector

24. Force account. Lessons learned from past experience show that force account is managed
effectively when productivity controls are used. The Office des Routes’ responsibilities and
objectives will be detailed in a performance contract that it will sign with the implementing
agency, the Cellule Infrastructures.

25. Contracting out civil works. Lessons learned from the recent Bank projects on contracting
out civil works have been factored in the project design, in particular accessibility of works,
realistic cost estimates, and adequate contingencies.

26. Maintenance of roads. To ensure the sustainability of the reopened roads, the project will
fund their maintenance throughout the project, while helping the creation of a Road Maintenance
Fund meant to fund the maintenance of non project roads in the first place and of project roads as
soon as the project is closed.
27. High risk of corruption. The MIPWR will be responsible for procurement management.
Procurement processing will be handled by the CI reinforced by technical assistance in IDA
procurement guidelines. An Anti-Corruption Action Plan will be implemented and six months
into implementation, the CI’s procurement capacity will be assessed and the proposed
procurement arrangements revisited.
28. Impact on the forest and protected areas. Recent experience with rehabilitation projects in
DRC showed that careful planning is needed to avoid conflicts between development and
conservation that are costly to remediate afterwards. DRC has the second largest rainforest in the
world with critical value for local livelihoods (including the pygmies) and the global
environment. DRC has a unique protected areas network and many unexplored areas of high
conservation value. Yet, as evidenced by experience, road opening most often has negative
impacts on the forest and protected areas it goes through and on indigenous people depending for
their livelihood on these forests. Pro-Routes intends to mitigate such negative impacts by
tackling issues such as illegal logging, large-scale poaching, and encroachment on protected
areas by directly working with communities living in the zone of influence of the roads and
through strengthening of the local institutions responsible for forest and protected area
management. It will also support existing protected areas to minimize impacts on these protected
areas and help identify new ones to offset residual environmental impacts. It will also protect
indigenous people potentially affected by the project. About 13% of the budget is allocated to the
environmental and social program thus reflecting the high attention Pro-Route pays to this
critical issue. In addition, the supervision team will recruit an experienced and independent NGO
of international renown to help the World Bank monitor and supervise the effective
implementation of the environmental and social program.

29. Impact on indigenous people. Adverse impact of road works and of restoration of motorized
traffic on indigenous people, namely the pygmies in the project area, has been highlighted in a
recent Inspection Panel report. The proposed project has gone to great length to assess the
impacts on indigenous people and set up an adequately funded and carefully organized
mechanism through NGO, the MECNT and the ICCN to mitigate those impacts. In addition, the
proper functioning of this mechanism will be monitored on a regular basis by independent NGOs
recruited directly by the Bank.

30. Law enforcement and involvement of the civil society. Law enforcement, public information,
and involvement of civil society are key for natural resources management. To that end, the
project includes institutional support to MECNT and ICCN, third-party monitoring, contractual
partnerships with NGOs, and information and awareness-raising campaigns. The environmental
component has been designed in close association with a high-level environmental expert and a
local NGO to ensure that a realistic and adapted program is being proposed. A renowned
international NGO will assist the national institutions with the implementation of the
Environmental and Social Program, the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and the
implementation of the Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) and the Indigenous Peoples
Development Plan (IPDP).

9. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation)

31. The World Bank Safeguard Policies mentioned in the table below have been triggered.

Project Yes No
Environmental Assessment (OP/BP/GP 4.01) [X] []
Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) [X] []
Pest Management (OP 4.09) [] [X]
Cultural Property (OPN 11.03, being revised as OP 4.11) [X] []
Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) [X] []
Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20, being revised as OP 4.10) [X] []
Forests (OP/BP 4.36) [X] []
Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) [] [X]
Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP/GP 7.60)* [] [X]
Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP/GP 7.50) [] [X]

32. The following activities carried out during project preparation and to be implemented during
project execution are meant to ensure compliance with the triggered Safeguard Policies. For the
overall project an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) Category A has
been prepared and disclosed. The choice for the preparation of an ESMF was made, because the
road segments to be rehabilitated are largely inaccessible and security was not assured at the time
of the decision to prepare an ESMF. The ESMF is comparable to a Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA), which identifies the main environmental and social issues and recommends
measures to manage these impacts. It addresses: specific social and environmental impacts which
will be addressed through the socio-environmental component 3 with a total budget of US$16
million. The preparation of the ESMF included comprehensive consultations with affected and
beneficiary communities. For each road segment a separate Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment (ESIA) will be prepared and disclosed at least 3 months before any physical works
funded by the project start in order to address specific environmental and social issues related to
this road segment. At present an ESIA for the Kisangani–Bunduki segment has been prepared
and will be disclosed before negotiations.
33. The contractor’s contracts will include clauses regarding a “Chance Find Procedure” in case
physical cultural resources are discovered during road rehabilitation. Also clauses regarding the
damage to sacred places will be included. In case sacred places will be affected a solution will be
sought through a consultative process. Due compensation will be paid to affected people or
communities for losses or damage to sacred places.
34. From a social safeguard perspective, a joined Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) has
been prepared, approved and disclosed. Consultations with the affected communities revealed no
special concerns. The only concern people had, was that the road should be build as fast as
possible. The choice of a RPF as a mitigation instrument is dictated by the fact that at this stage
of project preparation, the technical studies have not yet been completed and the accessibility of
the roads is very difficult and security is not assured. In addition, provisions have been made to
complete for the axis Kisangani-Buta-Bondo-Bunduki and Uvira-Kasomeno a socio-economic
study with a detailed census that will be used for the preparation of Resettlement Action Plans
(RAPs) if and where needed during the first year of project implementation. The two RAPs will
be disclosed at least 3 months before the launching of any construction/rehabilitation works
funded by the project starts.

35. Along the axis Kisangani-Bunduki and in its area of influence, it has been determined with
the participation of several stakeholders, including NGOs, that there are no Pygmies camps. This
finding is consigned in a project document titled “Etude d’Impact Socio-Environnemental du
Projet Pro-Routes – Cadre stratégique (ESMF), Juillet 2007. Hence no mitigation measures for
indigenous people are needed for this axis. During project implementation, should we discover
that pygmy groups are present in the area of influence of this road segment, an Indigenous
Peoples Development Plan (IPDP) will be prepared, including comprehensive consultation, and
disclosed.

36. For the axis Uvira-Kasomeno, a preliminary study indicates that there are several Pygmies
camps established between Uvira and Kalemie and up to Moba. At this stage and for the same
reasons mentioned for the RPF, there is no specific and detailed information available to prepare
an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP). Instead, an Indigenous People Planning
Framework (IPPF) has been prepared, approved and disclosed. During the first year of project
implementation, when accessibility and security are assured, an Indigenous Peoples
Development Plan with a detailed Action Plan (IPDP) will be prepared and implemented. The
IPDP will be disclosed at least 3 months before any physical works funded by the project start.
The preparation process of the IPDP will include comprehensive free, prior and informed
consultation with the affected communities.

37. Further, during the first year of project implementation, when the ESIAs are completed and if
they prescribe the development of new protected areas as an environmental mitigation measure
(an Environmental Offset is required under OP 4. 01 to compensate for significant biodiversity
losses) or if access will need to be limited to existing protected areas, a Process Framework
(required under OP 4.12) will be developed for those protected areas.

38. The ESMF, RPF and the IPPF have been disclosed on September 21, 2007, at the following
places: Kinshasa, Buta, Bukavu, Pweto, Kalemie, Lubumbashi and in the World Bank Infoshop.

39. Component 3 of the project will finance a comprehensive environmental and social
management component, which will mitigate to a large extent the environmental and social
impacts. A renowned international NGO will be hired, before any physical works funded by the
project start, for the duration of the project to implement in close collaboration with the local
institutions and NGOs the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The RAPs and the IPDP(s)
will also be implemented by this international NGO in collaboration with local institutions. The
international NGO will be responsible for environmental and social capacity building in these
local institutions and local NGOs and will be responsible for independent environmental and
social monitoring. The independent monitoring reports will be published on a regular basis.
40. World Bank Safeguard Policy 4.01 requires for complex Category A projects in sensitive
environments an Environment and Social Advisory Panel (ESAP). During project preparation an
independent experienced environmental / biodiversity specialist has advised the Government and
the Bank on the content of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). During project
implementation an experienced independent international NGO will assist the World Bank in
supervising the adequate execution of the Environmental and Social Program (Component 3,
EMPs, RAPs and IPDP(s)). This international independent NGO will act as an independent
environmental auditor. The reports of this independent NGO will be public documents and will
be published at least 2 times per year during the construction period and one time per year during
the first 5 years of operation of the project. The involvement of the independent experienced
environmental /biodiversity specialist and the experienced international independent NGO
during project implementation will fulfill the requirement for an Environmental and Social
Advisory Panel (ESAP), required for environmentally sensitive category A projects, as described
in the World Bank Safeguard Policy on Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01).

41. The Cellule Infrastructures will recruit an experienced international consultant for the
duration of the project. This specialist will be among others responsible for oversight
environmental and social monitoring and finalization of the outstanding ESIAs, RAPs and
IPDP(s). The environmental and social supervision during construction will be the responsibility
of the OdR, which will be strengthened for this purpose. The overall environmental and social
supervision will be carried out by the GEEC part of the Ministry of Environment (Congolese
Group for Environmental Studies). The GEEC will also be strengthened under the project.

10. List of Factual Technical Documents (available in French at World Bank Infoshop)

- Environmental and Social Management Framework, September 2007 – report E1718

- Resettlement Policy Framework, September 2007 – report RP595
- Indigenous People Development Framework, September 2007 – report IPP250

11. Contact point

Contact: Alain L. Labeau
Title: Lead Spec.
Tel: (202) 473-4210
Fax: (202) 614-1010
Email: Alabeau@worldbank.org

12. For more information contact:

The InfoShop
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone: (202) 458-4500
Fax: (202) 522-1500
Email: pic@worldbank.org
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop