The World Bank Benin Cities Support Project / PAURAD (P122950) REPORT NO.: RES41565 DOCUMENT OF THE WORLD BANK RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF BENIN CITIES SUPPORT PROJECT / PAURAD APPROVED ON JUNE 21, 2013 TO REPUBLIC OF BENIN URBAN, RESILIENCE AND LAND AFRICA Regional Vice President: Hafez M. H. Ghanem Country Director: Coralie Gevers Regional Director: Simeon Kacou Ehui Practice Manager/Manager: Sylvie Debomy Task Team Leader(s): Brahim Ould Abdelwedoud The World Bank Benin Cities Support Project / PAURAD (P122950) I. BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P122950 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Partial Assessment (B) Partial Assessment (B) Approval Date Current Closing Date 21-Jun-2013 30-Jun-2020 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Republic of Benin Ministry of Environment, Housing & Urban Dev. Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The Project's development objective is to increase access to urban services and improve urban management in selected cities of Benin. Summary Status of Financing Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-52740 21-Jun-2013 09-Oct-2013 06-Jun-2014 30-Jun-2020 60.00 51.04 5.06 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. SUMMARY OF PROJECT STATUS AND PROPOSED CHANGES The World Bank Benin Cities Support Project / PAURAD (P122950) The project is slated to close on June 30, 2020 following a restructuring in June 2019 for adjustments for the direct implementation of project activities by municipalities in the Financing Agreement, the Project Implementation Manual, and the Results Framework. Despite delays in some works, the last Implementation Support Mission in December 2019 considers progress towards achievement of Project Development Objective (PDO) as Satisfactory and the project development objective (PDO) is likely to be achieved given the results obtained so far. Among the five PDO indicators, four have already been reached (or very close to their final target). The total number of direct beneficiaries has reached 897,000 compared to the end- of-project (EOP) target of 900,000; the number of additional people in participating cities' urban areas protected from seasonal flooding has reached 151,838 exceeding its EOP target of 151,000; the number of additional people with improved access to all-season roads within 500 meter range under project has reached 315,000 (EOP target); and the number of municipalities disclosing their annual budgets is 10 (EOP target). These results may change following the results of the beneficiary survey in January 2020. However, the indicator related to the percentage of resources from the optional tranche transferred to communes through FADEC will likely not reach its target because of delays in implementation of the related activities. Currently, the Implementation Progress (IP) is rated Moderately Satisfactory. Current disbursement stands at 91% and is expected to reach 94% by the end of project, as some activities will likely not be implemented because of delays in safeguards requirements completion. As safeguards documents for most of the remaining civil works were approved and implemented with delays, the contractors have readjusted their planning to aim for completion of works by the project closing date. Implementation was going well until the arrival of COVID- 19 pandemic. Due to this pandemic, the project faces several challenges that are expected to lead to delays in project completion. Under these circumstances, the Government has reiterated its request for an extension of the project closing date by 6 months until December 31, 2020 which will allow additional time for the project to complete ongoing activities. This would be the first extension of project closing date. At the same time, the Government has expressed its interest to carry out complementary activities to consolidate the project achievements and maximize its impacts, as well as take the time to deepen its reflection on a future sustainable cities program. Therefore, this restructuring is requesting a change in project closing date only, while all other aspects of the project design and implementation stay the same. In addition, the team will start data collection for the preparation of the implementation completion report. II. DETAILED CHANGES LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications IDA-52740 Effective 30-Jun-2020 31-Dec-2020 30-Apr-2021 The World Bank Benin Cities Support Project / PAURAD (P122950)