According to bank documents:

Original Objective:
The objective of the proposed project is to support the development of a seafood cluster in Nouadhibou that promotes sustainable management of fisheries and generates value for the communities.

Current Objective:
The suggested revised version of the project would be as follows: “support the development of a seafood cluster that promotes the sustainable management of fisheries and creates value for communities in Nouadhibou and improve the business environment to boost private sector development in Mauritania.”

The proposed additional funding will support the development objectives of the original project, however the objective, activities and intermediate indicators are being adjusted to reflect results outside of the fisheries sector, especially to account for PPP and investment climate activities that are not strictly related to the development of Nouadhibou’s eco-seafood cluster. The project has four components:

1. Developing a Sustainable Seafood Cluster in Nouadhibou. The proposed additional grant and restructuring will enable the project to finance additional requests from ANZF needed for the implementation of the Eco-Seafood Cluster Strategy. New activities include: under Component 1.19 (i) technical assistance to ANFZ to support the operationalization of the PPP law in the Free Zone; (ii) construction of an Eco-Seafood Cluster governance unit building; and under Component 1.210 (iii) further supporting the Free Zone’s investment promotion strategy; (iv) ensuring the adoption of better environmental, social and governance practices at ANZF through the hiring of experts in fisheries and other relevant issues
2. Increasing the Value of Seafood Products Produced and Marketed in the Seafood Cluster with the Participation of Local Actors. The proposed restructuring would also involve changes to activities under Component 2.
   1. Improving the handling of landed catch and promoting the export of fresh fish at the Nouadhibou Seafood Cluster. Existing activities under sub-component 2.1 will be adjusted. For example, activities related to the development of operating plans for PAN and EPBR, as well as TA to the Nouadhibou airport, will be dropped, since these have already been covered in the Eco-Seafood Cluster Strategy published in 2017. Dropping these activities will serve to fund cost overruns incurred during the preparation, consultations and design of the Eco-Seafood Cluster Strategy. In addition, following-up on recommendations from the Eco-Seafood Cluster Strategy, this sub-component will finance key priority infrastructure to enhance landing logistics, improve resource management and increase production value in the artisanal fisheries sector.
   2. Building local suppliers’ and vulnerable groups’ capacity to capture greater benefits from productive and inclusive seafood value chains. This sub-component will follow-up on key findings from the report “Developing Women’s Engagement in Fisheries in the Nouadhibou Free Zone: Entrepreneurship and the Path to Economic Development” published in 2018 and financed by CIIP, by providing organizational support and improving access to markets for women operating in the artisanal fisheries sector and other small-scale activities in Nouadhibou. Proposed interventions under the Additional Financing include: (i) providing marketing and organizational support to local women’s cooperatives operating in Nouadhibou (including training in socio-emotional skills); (ii) promoting the organizing of women’s fisheries activities into larger cooperatives or unions of cooperatives; (iii) supporting productive alliances with larger players, who can act as intermediaries and help accelerate small producers; (iv) sponsoring study trips to countries in the sub-region to promote
      new export markets for women; (v) supporting the certification of artisanal salt (produced by local women actors) by ONISPA; and vi) supporting an awareness campaign to promote the local consumption of products made by women.
3. Strengthening the Enabling Environment for Private Sector Development. A new project component will be introduced to integrate ongoing and additional activities aimed at addressing core constraints to the business environment and developing a strong PPP program in Mauritania. Component 3 will thus consist of two
   subcomponents that together would scale up two nationwide agendas that have been successfully supported and piloted through the Project: sub-component 3.1 – Improving the Investment Climate; and sub-component 3.2 - Supporting the Operationalization of the Government’s PPP agenda.
   1. Improving the Investment Climate. Building on the strong support provided to investment climate reforms since the Project’s inception, the additional funding would continue to provide technical assistance and financial support aimed at addressing core constraints to the business environment in Mauritania.
   2. Supporting the Operationalization of the Government’s PPP agenda. In recent years, the PPP agenda has experienced renewed interest from the Mauritanian Government, which is mirrored by the Project. The AF would continue to provide technical assistance to the Government of Mauritania to developing a strong PPP program.
4. Project Management. Activities under this component would include support to procurement, financial management (FM), safeguards management, monitoring and evaluation through the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), as well as offering a platform for collaboration and cooperation among relevant government agencies. Given the scope of new activities proposed at the national level, it has been deemed necessary to create a separate component for project management to oversee implementation and handle financial and administrative management, as well as collaborate and coordinate with other relevant entities involved in the project for the successful implementation of the project. Annex 3 provides details on how these components and activities were selected and how all proposed activities contribute to the implementation of an Eco-Seafood Cluster Strategy in Nouadhibou and the private sector development agenda moving forward.

World Bank:
Cristina Navarrete Moreno
Private Sector Specialist

Alexandre Hugo Laure
Senior Private Sector Specialist

El Hadramy Oubeid
Public Sector Specialist

Borrower:
Ministry of Economy and Finance
Moctar Ould Djay
Ministre de l'Économie et des Finances

Implementing Agencies:
Nouadhibou Free Zone Authority
Housseinou Bal
Director General for Development
h.bal@ndbfreezone.mr

NESC - Project Coordination Unit
Mohamed Lemine Hamady
Coordinateur

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