World Bank funds improvement of rural roads

TIRANA, June 3 – The World Bank Board of Directors approved a US$20 million credit for the Secondary and Local Roads Project in Albania. The program seeks to improve access to essential services and economic markets, especially in rural areas, by improving the condition, management, and financing of regional and local roads in the country. The project will also support the introduction of the private sector in road maintenance on the road network.
Through this project, the Bank will also act as a catalyst for mobilizing other donor financing in this sector.
“A recent survey noted that, after employment and income, the majority of rural respondents considered poor road access as the biggest problem they faced, making it difficult to reach markets, providing no incentive to increase agricultural production, and inhibiting the delivery of health and education services,” said Martin Humphreys, Task Team Leader.
“This project represents a substantive first step to removing this impediment and making a real impact on the quality of life for rural inhabitants. It will also contribute to placing the management and financing of the regional and local road network on a sustainable path for the future.”
The project will further seek to expand the public works associated with the improvement of priority sections of the secondary (regional) road network; the public works associated with the improvement of priority sections of the local (commune) road network; and implementation and institutional support.
The total cost of the Project is US$40 million, with US$20 million coming from an IDA Credit, US$15 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), and US$5 million being provided by the Albanian government in counterpart financing.
Implementation will be undertaken by the Albanian Development Fund, supported by the steering committee established under the Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Telecommunications.
The total program is expected to encompass between 1,000 נ1,500 km of secondary and local roads, implying a total program size of between US$200-400 million. The Government of Albania is discussing and has received additional commitments from a number of different donors and international financial institutions for further funding נthe Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation. In addition, the authorities have received financing from the European Union’s instrument for pre-accession (IPA 2008), with further allocations possible in subsequent years.
Albania joined the World Bank in 1991. World Bank commitments to the country, to date, total approximately US$925 million for 64 operations.