Gabon: World Bank Supports Local Infrastructure
Development in Gabon
Contacts:
In Washington:
Aby Toure 202 473 8302
akonate@worldbank.org
In Gabon:
Patrice Etong Oveng (241) 73 81 71
petongoveng@worldbank.org


WashingtonDC, March 14, 2005 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved an International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) loan of US$25 million to assist the Government of Gabon in the development of local infrastructure.

The Local Infrastructure Development project aims to increase access of the population living in low-income settlements to basic services and to
sustain access of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to civil works and construction contracts within the public sector. The project will help improve
the management of public resources for better living conditions in the targeted neighborhoods and strengthen the private sector in Gabon.

The project is part of a National Public Investment Program for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Employment, promoting within the public sector,
small labor-intensive infrastructure projects that have a strong impact on the living conditions of the poor and that help generate employment in the
construction industry.

“This program is likely to optimize the quality of public investment in infrastructure and its potential effects on the development of local small and
medium enterprises. It is also likely to bear an effect on poverty reduction,” said Chantal Reliquet, the World Bank Task Team Leader for the
project.

Thanks to infrastructure to be constructed as a result of the project, a greater group of the Gabonese population is expected to benefit from all-year
access to transport and vehicle services, gain access to improved sanitary conditions, lower the impact of environmental degradation linked to
uncollected solid waste and suffer fewer cases of floods resulting from poor drainage in the targeted neighborhoods.

“The amount of public works contracted through TIPPEE methods will increase as well as the number of small and medium enterprises completing
works on time, and the number of technical firms created and strengthened,” Reliquet added.

This project supports Gabon’s economic diversification and poverty reduction agenda, of which improved quality and quantity of public investment in
urban infrastructure and its maximum impact on both the local private sector and the living conditions of the poor are key to the country. It is line with the
two pillars of the Country Assistance Strategy for Gabon discussed by the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in May 2005: (i) strengthening the
management of public resources, both natural and financial, for improved social outcomes; and (ii) improving the investment climate to foster sustainable,
private sector-led growth.

The Local Infrastructure Development project will include five components: (i) community-based infrastructure upgrading low-income settlements will
bring noticeable improvement to the living conditions of population of the targeted settlements; (ii) capacity building will provide training and technical
assistance for officials from the municipalities, the line ministries and the beneficiary communities; (iii) development of local SMEs in the construction
industry aims to support the development of local SMEs through better management of public procurement and improved financial conditions for their
development; (iv) support to the reform of public infrastructure management will strengthen Gabon’s administrative and technical capacities in carrying
out transparent and efficient procurement of public works; and (v) support to HIV/AIDS prevention programs will seek to coordinate with existing and
upcoming programs to support the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in the cities targeted by the project.



For more information on the World Bank’s work in sub-Saharan Africa visit: http://www.worldbank.org/afr
For more information about World Bank’s activities in Gabon, please click here

For more information about the project, please click here