Infrastructure: A cross-cutting feature
The rehabilitation and construction of new infrastructure is present in most of the projects supported by the Bêkou Trust Fund: rehabilitation of hospitals as part of health programmes; development of drying areas and processing units for the agricultural sector; development of collective infrastructure such as schools and markets, particularly as part of social cohesion projects; and rehabilitation of training centres.
In total, more than 540 public spaces/buildings have been constructed or rehabilitated with the support of the Bêkou Fund since its creation in 2014.
Located between 6 countries (Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo), the Central African Republic is a landlocked country with no direct access to the sea.
Successive crises have led to the deterioration and even destruction of much of its infrastructure: markets, roads, bridges, health centres, etc. Thus, the Central African Republic (CAR) suffers from a lack of infrastructure. Moreover, those that do exist are often of poor quality or badly maintained.
Objective
Since its creation, the Bêkou Fund has focused on the rehabilitation of certain strategic roads and on the rehabilitation/construction of infrastructure vital to the country's development.
This is directly in line with the second pillar of the country’s recovery and peacebuilding plan: 'ensuring economic recovery and the revival of productive sectors'.
Priorities for action
As early as 2014, the Bêkou Fund created a first ‘Economic and Social Reconstruction Programme in Urban Areas’ (PRESU). In 2017, it adopted a programme dedicated to opening up the country. In the last 6 years, more than €24 million have been allocated to infrastructure.
- In the framework of the PRESU programme, the French Development Agency, in partnership with ACTED, DRC and OXFAM, is conducting interventions in the 3rd and 5th districts of Bangui, the capital of CAR. Since the launch of the project in 2015, the NGOs have carried out income generating activities, high labour intensity works, rehabilitation of water points, sanitation activities in schools and social cohesion activities. The project's current priority is the rehabilitation of Avenue Idriss Deby. Phase 2 of the programme focuses on 2 precarious neighbourhoods in Bangui. It includes the rehabilitation of the women's house and the market in Miskine, the rehabilitation of the blacksmith's workshop in Yakité, and the rehabilitation and equipping of schools in both neighbourhoods.
- The project ‘Opening up the regions of CAR’ aims to facilitate the movement of goods and people by installing metal bridges provided free of charge by France. By the end of 2020, 11 of the 18 bridges identified had been installed in the prefectures of Lobaye, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouham Pendé and Mbomou. In addition, Expertise France has rehabilitated 5 other bridges between Bangassou and Rafaï. The choice of bridges to be rehabilitated was made taking into account the needs of other projects financed by the Bêkou Fund. Thus, the 5 bridges rehabilitated in April 2020 around Bangassou will facilitate the deployment of the new RELSUDE recovery programme targeting the south-eastern zone of the CAR. In addition, the project has provided the Ministry of Public Works and Road Maintenance with all the mapping from the diagnosis to enable it to update its database and to develop a maintenance strategy for roads and crossings beyond the structures directly concerned by this project.
Main results
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541 structures have been rehabilitated/constructed
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396 metres of Bailey bridges have been delivered and 11 bridges have been installed
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423 crossing points have been diagnosed
Related documents
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