The World Bank has approved a $170 million funding package from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Chad in enhancing connectivity, logistics, and value chains with commercial potential in the Lake Chad region. This initiative, named the Chad Connectivity and Integration Project, focuses on infrastructure development and aims to boost economic opportunities in the area.
The project will involve paving 55 kilometers of the Liwa-Rig Rig section and 12 kilometers of access roads connecting Bol city on the Trans-Saharan Highway. Additionally, it plans to improve 50 kilometers of rural roads to enhance market access for remote areas. The initiative also includes constructing solar-powered trade and agricultural logistics facilities such as warehouses and markets to assist women in Bol, Bagasola, and other regions.
"The project aims to improve the efficiency and safety of transport along the Trans-Saharan Highway and the navigability of Lake Chad. This will help stabilize the region, promote economic opportunities, and connect isolated populations to agricultural areas, markets, schools, and health services," stated Clara de Sousa, World Bank Country Director for Chad.
The Lake Chad region faces challenges due to infrastructure gaps, limited access to basic services, and livelihoods impacted by climate change and conflict. To address these issues with a focus on gender inclusion, "the World Bank will support subregional trade by enhancing the capacities of traders, producers, and transport associations, including women's groups," said Rasit Pertev, World Bank Country Manager for Chad. This effort targets improving financial and administrative skills within fisheries and spirulina value chains.
An estimated 3.8 million people are expected to benefit from this project. The beneficiaries include communities along the Trans-Saharan Highway in the Lake Chad region as well as refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and local goods producers participating in regional value chains.