Cameroon - Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience in the Far North of Cameroon for Inclusiveness Project : Additional Financing

Overview & Synopsis

The development objective of the Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience in the Far North of Cameroon for Inclusiveness Project for Cameroon is to enhance connectivity and climate resilience along the Mora-Dabanga-Kousseri road section and improve access to basic socioeconomic infrastructure in selected districts of the Far North. The additional financing is proposed to cover cost overruns identified at contract award, driven by higher construction input and fuel prices, elevated transport and security expenses, inflation, and refined technical requirements for climate-resilient designs, and to ensure full execution of already awarded works without altering the development objective, scope, or closing date. The Bank will support climate-resilient rehabilitation of the 205-kilometer Mora-Dabanga-Kousseri (MDK) corridor, including the reconstruction of the Tilde bridge and the Kousseri bypass; rehabilitation and maintenance of approximately 200 kilometers of access roads in refugee and host communities and delivery of labor-intensive public works; and robust supervision and safeguards management. It will also finance improved community infrastructure such as schools, health centers, water points, markets, storage facilities reserved for women, and community multimedia centers, alongside the operationalization of a grievance redress mechanism and third-party monitoring to strengthen accountability. Transport sector institutional strengthening will include capacity building for climate-resilient road asset management, establishment of a road safety database, awareness and first aid training for roadside communities, and the acquisition of mobile speed control equipment. Security risk management for field implementation will be supported through a works security support framework (DSAT) and decentralized Project Implementation Units to sustain site access, while environmental and social instruments, resettlement actions, and occupational health and safety measures are maintained and updated. The project intends to deliver all-weather, safer, and more reliable connectivity that reduces travel time between Mora and Kousseri, lowers transport costs, and improves access to education, health services, and markets for approximately 925,000 direct users, including women, youth, refugees, and host communities, while strengthening climate resilience to flooding and heat and contributing to net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the project lifetime.