Nigeria plans a $500m loan from the World Bank for “rural roads ”The Federal Government of Nigeria is targeting a $500 million loan from the World Bank aimed at the development of rural roads and agricultural marketing.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s final draft of the Resettlement Policy Framework for the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project Scale-Up (RAAMP-SU) states that this fund will help address the urgent need for improved connectivity in rural Nigeria, where 92 million people do not currently have access to good roads, according to Nairametrics.
The policy document noted “Nigeria’s road network is relatively extensive, encompassing approximately 194,000 kilometres of roads. This includes 34,000 kilometres of federal roads, 30,000 kilometres of state roads, and 130,000 kilometres of registered rural roads. The road density equates to about 0.21 kilometres of roads per square kilometre.
“Despite this relatively high road density, the rural accessibility index for Nigeria (defined as the proportion of the rural population residing within 2 kilometres of an all-weather road) stands at a mere 25.5 per cent, resulting in approximately 92 million rural inhabitants lacking connectivity.
“Rural access is particularly restricted in areas densely populated by the economically disadvantaged. These factors underscore the imperative to expand and enhance the rural road network, as well as conserve rural road and transport assets.”
The RAAMP-SU project is planned to cost $600 million in total, of which 83.33% is expected to come from money provided by the World Bank.
The commitment amount for the parent project is 79% more than the $280 million World Bank initial pledge.
The project will finance three key components, which are the Improvement of Resilient Rural Access ($387 million), Climate Resilient Asset Management ($158 million), and Institutional Strengthening and Project Management ($55 million).
In the policy document, States that are eager to take part in the project must have a fully operational Roads Fund and Roads Agency, with appointed boards and staff, as well as allocations in the state budget for administrative costs.
The document added “While the eligibility for state participation under RAAMP required the drafting and placement of Road Fund and Roads Agency bills in the State house of assemblies, the new project would require the States to have a fully functional Roads Fund and Roads Agency with appointed boards and staff, and provision for administrative costs made in the state budget. In addition, RARAs offer an opportunity to foster women’s representation in the transport sector.
“The RAAMP-SU’s funds will be allocated on a competitive basis between states factoring in (a) a refined socioeconomic selection matrix to increase rural access to basic services and promote food security; (b) activities readiness in terms of design; and (c) state’s demonstrated commitment in the projected infrastructure efficient maintenance, including potential co-financing from their resources.”
To guarantee that the required procedures for relocation and compensation are in place before any land acquisition or access restriction, compensation and other support are expected to be given before displacement.
the RAAMP-SU project is aimed at enhancing rural access and climate resilience is the goal of the RAAMP-SU project, which will increase agricultural potential and agrarian communities’ selling opportunities.
This will therefore help the people living in rural areas to have a better quality of life.
