According to the Bank’s website, the project's overall objective is to help, through corridor development and trade facilitation activities, to open up the southern region of Madagascar and promote regional integration by increasing the volume of investment and intraregional trade.

The African Development Bank's 2022-2026 Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Madagascar, approved in May 2022, is aligned with the country's General State Policy (PGE), which serves as the national development policy framework. It draws in particular on the two phases of the PGE covering the periods 2019-2023 and 2024-2028. Adopted in January 2024, the PGE 2024-2028 is built on three pillars: (i) human capital, (ii) industrialization and economic transformation, and (iii) governance. The 2024-2028 PGE is a continuation of the 2019-2023 PGE, which was implemented through the Plan for the Emergence of Madagascar (PEM) 2019-2023. Pillar 2 of the PGE emphasizes the development of transport infrastructure as part of the country's modernization agenda. The PGE is consistent with Madagascar's international commitments, including the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change. Environmental measures incorporated into the design studies of these developments have ensured the protection of all relevant areas, allowing Madagascar to maintain its status as a "green island." In particular, financing for climate mitigation initiatives through the Green Climate Action (GCA) could contribute to the implementation of Pillar 3 of the PGE. As for the SDGs, five will be advanced through this operation: SDGs 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10. With respect to the African Union's Agenda 2063, the operation will contribute to the achievement of 8 out of the 20 goals, specifically goals 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 17, and 18. The project is aligned with the Bank's Gender Strategy 2021-2025 and its three pillars aimed at (i) promoting gender equality, (ii) empowering women and girls, and (iii) accelerating economic and social development in Regional Member Countries. Within the framework of this project, emphasis is placed on women's economic empowerment through improved access to markets enabled by the development of quality infrastructure. These improvements will also enhance women's access to social services, helping to reduce barriers to their full participation in local economies and contributing to the reduction of gender inequalities.

The project focuses on two key locations: the city of Toliara, the capital of the Atsimo Andrefana region, and the city of Morombe. The Fiherenana Bypass-Dyke runs along the city of Toliara, which holds a strategic administrative role as the capital of the Toliara I district, the Atsimo Andrefana region, and the former Toliara province. In 2018, Toliara had a population of 168,756, which was estimated at 190,010 in 2022. The Morombe district is also located in the Atsimo Andrefana region, the largest in Madagascar, comprising nine districts. The project under review covers two regions: Atsimo Andrefana and Menabe, with a combined population of 1.6 million in 2022, representing approximately 5.5% of the national population. The project's trade facilitation component will particularly benefit the Customs Administration, the port community, economic operators, exporting and importing companies, consumers, the ecosystem promoting research and technological innovation, and startups. More broadly, it will also benefit public authorities and the national economy as a whole.

Environmental Category: [1] High Risk

Finance Type: Standard loan
Commitments (UA): 125,000,000
Conversion Rate USD (2025-05-15): 1,32647

Grace period (years): 10 years
Deadline: 50 years
Government’s counterpart contribution: UA 8.73 million
Total project cost: UA 174.66 million

Name: Jean-Jacques NYIRUBUTAMA
Email: j.nyirubutama@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBÕs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/