The present intervention relates to the Project to construct access Roads to the Road-Rail Bridge over the Congo River. Once the road-rail bridge is built, the project will help to establish a permanent road link between DRC and RC. The project will contribute to ensuring the continuity of road traffic on the Tripoli-Windhoek-Cape Town corridor whose Central Africa section formed by the Cameroon-Chad-Congo-DRC link aims to link Yaounde, Libreville, Brazzaville and Kinshasa. It concerns: (i) access roads on the right bank of the Congo River (Republic of Congo), the roads connecting the Bridge to RN1 and, on the left bank (Democratic Republic of Congo), the roads connecting the Bridge to RN43; and (ii) connecting roads comprising: in the Republic of Congo, the Igne-Maloukou Trechot Special Economic Zone road and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Greater Kinshasa's bypass and arterial roads. The project implementation is expected to help to: (i) improve and secure links between Brazzaville and Kinshasa and seaports; (ii) promote trade between Brazzaville and Kinshasa, the two closest capitals in the world, as well as between both countries and travel along the Tripoli-Windhoek corridor; (iii) facilitate the processing and marketing of agricultural products; and (iv) promote trade between DRC and Cameroon and Gabon. The main components of the project are: (A) road works; (B) related facilities; (C) studies, institutional support and transport facilitation; and (D) project management.

The project sector objective is to ensure the continuity of the transport system along the Tripoli-Windhoek corridor and to contribute to promoting regional integration in Central Africa. The specific project objective is to establish a permanent road link between DRC and RC.

The main project beneficiaries are finance, trade, transport, mining, electricity and agricultural sector operators. Local and foreign consulting and control firms, private local and foreign enterprises in both countries and private carriers will benefit from the facilities developed by the project. The operating and logistical costs of industrialists, carriers and shippers will reduce significantly with the construction of a fixed road link overthe river that separates both countries. Members of the local communities (Ignie District, Maluku Municipal Council and the village of Maloukou Trechot) that will host the RRB infrastructure, particularly women engaged in petty trade on both banks of the river who face difficulties due to the numerous spates of harassment associated with the crossing of the river, will benefit from its positive outcomes.

KARANGA Augustin

a.karanga@afdb.org

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/.