Kenya: AfDB to contribute $217 million to finance Isiolo-Mandera highway

(Ecofin Agency) - Planned to improve accessibility in north-eastern Kenya, the Isiolo-Mandera project is receiving financial support from donors for its implementation. After the World Bank, it is the AfDB's turn to approve a loan for the project.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has just approved a $217 million loan to finance the construction of the Isiolo-Mandera highway, a corridor that serves northeastern Kenya. In a press release published this Wednesday, December 1, the banking institution indicates that it is a financing broken down into a non-concessional loan of 75 million dollars and a concessional loan of 142 million dollars. dollars.

This project aims to build 740 kilometers of road to interconnect Kenya with Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. In addition to the road infrastructure, the construction of several other works is also planned, such as water supply, laboratories and dispensaries, which will require an overall investment of nearly 841 million dollars.

For its implementation, the World Bank, the main sponsor of the project, had granted a concessional loan of approximately 500 million dollars to cover the asphalting of an equivalent of 356 km of roads. Apart from the AfDB and the World Bank, the other donors to the project are the Kenyan government and a consortium of five Arab banks brought together under the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project.

North-eastern Kenya is an area frequently prone to drought due to scarce rains, while the majority of the population lives on livestock. In addition to this difficulty, the populations must face the security challenges caused by extremist groups who have made the area their rear base.

The road infrastructure should contribute to the socio-economic development of this area, where 70% of the inhabitants live in poverty and have limited access to basic services, according to the World Bank. Apart from the improvements related to mobility that the project will bring, it is above all expected that the other works, in particular the water supply, will contribute to boosting agro-pastoral activities in the area.

Henoc Dossa

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