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The World Bank

Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

f
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Project Information Document (PID)

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Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 17-Dec-2023 | Report No: PIDA36696

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Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

BASIC INFORMATION

OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA
A. Basic Project Data

Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any)

Eastern and Southern Africa P180801 Transport Corridors for
Economic Resilience
(TRACER)
Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead)
EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 04-Dec-2023 20-Feb-2024 Transport

Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency

Investment Project Financing Ministry of Finance and The National Road Agency
National Planning Fund (NRFA)

Proposed Development Objective(s)

The PDO of the SOP is to improve efficiency, connectivity and climate resilience of key regional transport and trade
corridors in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The PDO of SOP1 is to improve year-round transport and trade connectivity between Zambia and Tanzania and
expand economic activity along the Dar es Salaam Corridor.

Components
Resilient transport and trade facilitation along the Dar es Salaam Corridor and preparatory studies for ensuing
corridors under the SOP
Corridor-oriented development
Sectoral capacity development and project management
Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC)

PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions)

SUMMARY -NewFin1

Total Project Cost 270.00

Total Financing 270.00
of which IBRD/IDA 270.00
Financing Gap 0.00

DETAILS -NewFinEnh1

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Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

World Bank Group Financing

International Development Association (IDA) 270.00

IDA Grant 270.00

Environmental and Social Risk Classification

High

Decision
The review did authorize the team to appraise and negotiate

B. Introduction and Context

Regional and Country Context
Regional Context
1. Diversity in the economies and endowments in Eastern and Southern Africa provides
considerable potential for significant gains from deeper integration. While the region has vast
agricultural potential, natural resources, good manufacturing and service industry bases, and a relatively
inexpensive large labor endowment, intraregional trade is only 23 percent, well below regional aspirations
and rates in Europe. The desire to increase regional integration, economic resilience and food security
motivated several initiatives by the African Union (AU) and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs),
including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) established in 2019 creating the largest free
trade area in the world. The importance of such initiatives became more pronounced following the COVID-
19 pandemic, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and climate change1.
2. Climate-resilient and efficient transport connectivity along the main corridors in Eastern and
Southern Africa are essential for economic transformation and economic resilience. Modernizing
transport corridors also remains a priority under the 2012-2040 African Union’s Program for Infrastructure
Development in Africa (PIDA), currently in its second phase.2 Eastern and Southern Africa is served by 11
major transport corridors (see map in Annex 9) connecting the countries of the region to one another and
to ports on the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Reducing climate-related disruptions and increasing the
efficiency of these corridors would not only provide reliable routes for international trade, but would help
in economic diversification, job creation and attraction of foreign investment in agriculture, value added
mining and manufacturing. The corridors would also foster small and medium enterprises (SMEs) along
the corridors contributing to inclusive and sustainable economic development. The availability of multiple
climate-resilient corridors also plays an important role in increasing the resilience of communities and
economies to changes in corridor physical and operating conditions, and political changes.
3. Despite the potential of these multimodal corridors, inadequate trade and transport facilitation
systems, missing and weak infrastructure links, and inefficient transport and logistics services are major

1
These events increased the exposure of the region to food shortage threats. Climate change is expected to
increase the vulnerability of the region, which relies heavily on rain-fed farming.
2
PIDA estimated efficiency gains of at least $172 billion in the African regional transport network, with the
potential for larger savings from developing and improving the trade corridors.

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impediments to intraregional trade. The cost of transport and logistics associated with trade including at
border crossings for landlocked countries in Sub-Saharan Africa could be as high as 60 percent of trade
values. Reducing the cost of transport connectivity of the land-linked countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Malawi, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could conservatively result in economic
savings estimated at 2 percent of their GDP. Establishing a coordinated regional approach to addressing
climate resilience and inefficiencies is therefore necessary for realizing the full potential of these corridors.
4. The Series of Projects (SoP) aims to address climate resilience and corridor efficiency in a
systemic and coordinated manner. SoP1 focuses on Dar es Salaam Corridor in Zambia, a key regional
corridor connecting to the port of Dar es Salaam and is expected to be followed by projects in Zambia and
Tanzania, building on agreements between Zambia, Tanzania and other countries and recent and ongoing
investments by the countries in this and other corridors (see para 23). Ensuing projects are being
developed to strengthen climate resilience and efficiency in roads and railways in the Nacala and Walvis
Bay corridors (see map in Annex 9) starting with Zambia. Future projects will also help directly enable
economic activities along the corridors and provide ancillary infrastructure for climate resilient
connectivity.
Country Context
5. Zambia is a land-linked, resource rich, sparsely populated country in Southern Africa.
Surrounded by eight countries, six of Eastern and Southern Africa’s regional corridors pass through
Zambia. The country’s population, spread over a vast geographical area (750,000 km2), much of it urban,
is estimated at about 19.6 million (2022) with a growth rate of 2.7 percent per year. The 2021 poverty
rate was estimated at 62 percent, with the incidence of poverty three times higher in rural areas than in
urban areas, especially for women. While Zambia has made progress in terms of gender equality, a
significant gender divide exists in terms of incomes, with women earning about 20 percent less than men
as Zambia ranks 62 out of 146 countries in access to economic opportunities in the Gender Gap Index.
The country’s Human Development Index places it at 154 out of 191 countries and territories.
6. Zambia has restored macroeconomic stability after defaulting on its external debt in 2020 and
is working to place the economy on a sustainable development path. A large government infrastructure
investment program financed largely by non-concessional borrowing pushed public debt to 150 percent
of GDP in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic tipped the economy into, a contraction of 2.8 percent in 2020,
Zambia’s first recession since 1998 and per capita income dropped to US$1,030 in 2021. Meanwhile
Inflation reached 22 percent in 2021 and the kwacha depreciated by over 50 percent. Since 2021,
however, the authorities have cancelled non-performing projects, cut energy subsidies, shifted spending
towards human development, tightened monetary policy, and negotiated terms of debt restructuring
with official creditors.3 The government is committed to mobilizing private capital to close Zambia’s
infrastructure gaps, including in transport, and to increasing the competitiveness of Zambian firms. The
economy is rebounding, with GDP expected to grow by 4.3 percent in 2023 and by an average of around
4.8 percent over the medium term.
7. Zambia’s Eighth National Development Plan 2022-2026 (8NDP) recognizes inadequate transport
infrastructure and logistics as constraints to realizing economic transformation and job creation. The

3
In October 2023, the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) finalized a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) to restructure debt owed to official bilateral creditors in line with debt sustainability thresholds in the
World Bank–International Monetary Fund (IMF) Debt Sustainability Analysis. The GRZ is currently negotiating with
private creditors to restructure debt on terms comparable to this MOU.

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country’s economic turnaround depends on successfully catalyzing new growth in manufacturing,

tourism, mining, and agriculture; the latter two accounting for about 90 percent of Zambia’s exports.
While mining will remain the main driver of the GDP growth and exports for years to come especially with
the significant increase in global demand for green energy transition minerals, over-reliance on the mining
industry has exposed the country to the volatility in international copper prices. A good share of the
agricultural productive zones and Tourism Development Areas (TDAs) lack the necessary connectivity.
Addressing the impediments to efficient connectivity (see para 3) would enable Zambia to better utilize
its strategic location at the crossroads of several key regional transport corridors and would provide an
excellent opportunity to ramp up trade and boost productivity and economic growth. Public private
partnerships in the road and rail sector are being sought to increase productivity and reduce the pressure
on the government budget.
8. Climate resilient infrastructure is essential to dampen the impact of floods, droughts and
extreme temperatures on livelihoods and economic growth.4 Zambia ranked 132 out of 185 countries
in the 2021 Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) index, indicating high exposure and
sensitivity and low ability to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change.5 The country is already
experiencing these impacts.6 The increase in frequency and intensity of these hazards will further threaten
agricultural productivity and significantly increase the number of people facing high levels of acute food
insecurity. One study estimated that climate impacts could reduce GDP by up to 6 percent by 2050.7 As
the failure of key transport infrastructure has proven to be a main contributor and conduit to the negative
impacts of climate change, sound transport adaptation policies within a climate-resilient infrastructure
system is essential for mitigating these impacts for Zambia and the region. The location of Zambia at the
center of several regional transport corridors endows the country with alternative trade and transport
routes increasing the resilience of the economy.
B. Sectoral and Institutional Context

9. The Ministry of Transport and Logistics (MTL) in Zambia is mandated to coordinate the
development, policy and regulation of the transport and logistics sector, while the Ministry of
Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development (MIHUD) oversees policy implementation in road
infrastructure development. The Road Development Agency (RDA) is the custodian of all public roads, the
National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) administers road funds, and the Road Transport and Safety Agency
(RTSA) is responsible for the implementation of government policy on road safety and traffic
management.

10. Transport corridors play a fundamental role in Zambia’s economic growth. As a land-linked
country with a vast geographical area and widely distributed natural resources, Zambia relies on these
corridors for connecting Zambia’s mining sector to ports, its agricultural produce to national and

4
While total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Zambia are far below Lower Middle Income (LMI)
countries average and have declined on a per capita level by 1.4 percent between 2008 and 2017, better than the
LMI average, and the major threats to Zambia from climate change require developing resilient systems, there are
economically viable opportunities for reducing emissions.
5
Think Hazard. Consulted on 26th October 2023. URL: https://thinkhazard.org/en/report/270-zambia
6
One study showed that the country lost US$5 billion between 1991 and 2011 due to the negative economic
impacts of climate-related disasters.
7
https://sa-tied-archive.wider.unu.edu/article/economic-implications-climate-change-in-
zambia#:~:text=The%20analysis%20suggests%20that%20climate,4%25%20for%20the%20same%20period.

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international markets, and people to cultural and tourism sites. The corridors are equally important for
Zambia’s neighbors, particularly DRC, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Botswana. The Copperbelt region in DRC
and Zambia, for example, produced around 2.4 million and 0.9 million tons of copper in 2021/22,
respectively, representing 57 percent and over 80 percent of their export values, with further growth in
extraction rates planned in both countries. The bulk of Zambia’s trade via the Indian and Atlantic oceans
is carried by six regional transport corridors:
(a) The North-South (NS) Corridor connecting DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the port of
Durban.
(b) The Dar es Salaam Corridor, connecting DRC and Zambia to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
(c) The Nacala Corridor, which connects Lusaka to Malawi and to the Nacala port in Mozambique.
(d) The Trans-Caprivi Corridor8 , which connects Walvis Bay port in Namibia with Zambia and in DRC.
(e) The Lobito Corridor, connecting Zambia to the Lobito port in Angola.
(f) The Beira Corridor, connecting Zambia to the Beira port in Mozambique.
11. The Dar es Salaam rail-road corridor, with its connection to the NS Corridor, continues to be the
busiest by traffic volume and most important transport corridor in terms of value of trade and freight
carried for Zambia. The corridor carries most of DRC’s copper production as well as that of Zambia through
the rail and road networks towards Dar es Salaam in the northeastern direction. The corridor has also
been instrumental in carrying fuel imports and agricultural exports of the country. The Government of the
Republic of Zambia (GRZ) and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (GRT) have signed a
few agreements (see para 23) to work collectively to further develop and remove all physical and non-
physical barriers along the corridor.
12. One of the major impediments to efficient transport connectivity is the inadequate condition
of long stretches of the corridors. For example, the current state of the 147 km section between
Kazungula and Katima Mulilo on the border with Namibia on the Trans Caprivi Corridor inhibits usage of
the road and increases occurrence of accidents, transportation costs and time. Similarly, the 203 km
section between Mpika and Serenje on the Dar es Salaam Corridor and the Lusaka – Luangwa section on
the Nacala Corridor have been identified as bad links along strategic corridors. All these road sections pass
through high climate risk districts and cities.9
13. The second major impediment to efficient transport connectivity is the inefficiencies at border
crossings, with cumbersome processes and inadequate facilities. Currently, border clearance
documentation and procedures are still largely manual beyond customs, duplicative, and cumbersome
with little coordination among agencies. GRZ is pursuing several policies for harmonization of border
processes with neighbouring countries for simplification of trade procedures and their consistent
application. While investments have been made in modernizing key border posts towards a single window
and a one stop border post (OSBP), a system connecting all relevant government border agencies does
not yet exist and automation is lacking, resulting in significant delays – several days, even weeks - at the
border.10 For example, trucks could wait as long as 4 days at the border crossing on the Dar es Salaam

8
Also known as the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Corridor.
9
Nordic Development Fund (2018): Development of Climate Resilient Infrastructure Standards and Codes for the
Transport Sector in Zambia: Climate Vulnerability Assessment Report, Vol 1, Main Report.
10
The Zambia Agribusiness and Trade Project-II (ZATP-II) (P179507) provides more details on the border clearance
impediments.

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Corridor between Tanzania and Zambia at Nakonde,11 where about 20 percent of all of Zambia’s customs
consignments are processed. Tedious processes, inadequate border infrastructure and warehousing
facilities and insufficiently staffing create a heavy burden on cross-border traders, especially women who
represent the majority of informal traders.12 In addition, women are often negatively impacted by
corruption and sexual harassment at the border.
14. Road safety is also a major concern in Zambia, with 3,654 deaths annually and a fatality rate of
37.9 deaths per 100,000 people. This is higher than the Sub-Saharan Africa and global averages, with a
good portion of accidents occurring along regional corridors. In 2021, there was a 28 percent increase in
fatalities compared to the previous year. Vulnerable road users (i.e., pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists)
make up 66 percent of the fatalities. Despite not meeting the previous target, Zambia committed to
reducing road deaths and injuries by at least 50 percent from 2021 to 2030 under the second UN Decade
of Actions for Road Safety.
15. Railways have the potential to play a much larger role given their comparative advantage.
Zambia’s railway networks carry about 15 percent of Zambia’s freight and a small share of DRC’s trade.
Zambia has two railway networks: i) The Lusaka-Dar es Salaam railway network, connecting Zambia with
Tanzania and operated by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA); and ii) The North-South
railway network running from DRC to Zimbabwe through Lusaka, and operated by Zambia Rail Limited
(ZRL). ZRL is a state-owned company, while TAZARA (I,860 km) is jointly owned by the Governments of
Tanzania and Zambia and has been in operation for over 40 years serving mainly as a freight railway
carrying particularly copper consignments. Since 2018, TAZARA has reached an open access agreement
with two private operators to help increase line utilization and revenues.13 Despite the economic, financial
and environmental comparative advantages of railways for carrying minerals and other bulk goods and
for travelling long distances, transportation of the minerals to smelters and ports is almost exclusively
carried out by road due to the inadequacy of railway infrastructure and rolling stock.14 GRZ introduced a
national target for a 30 percent rail modal share for freight and is pursuing private investment and
partnerships to develop its railway networks.
16. Transport efficiency in the region is hampered by climate hazards and the lack of resources
allocated for maintenance and reconstruction, resulting in high logistic costs and safety risks. Heavy
rainfall events, floods, erosion and extreme temperature damage rail, road and bridge infrastructure,
increasing the needs and costs of maintenance and rehabilitation. Climate change is expected to further
raise climate risks for road and bridge infrastructure and in particular for the critically important transport
corridors. Only 25 percent of Zambia’s core road network is paved, and the paved network receives less
than US$2,000/km for maintenance—less than a third of the recommended level of resources. Each year,
NRFA collects only 20 percent of the estimated annual resources required, leaving it exposed to national
treasury funding fluctuations. While clearly insufficient maintenance contributes to the poor condition of

11
Nakonde is classified by the Nordic Development Fund as a high climate risk district.
12
The results from a border profiling survey in Zambia for cross border traders revealed that more women
reported physical abuse (25.1%), lack of childcare facilities (23.1%), unsanitary conditions of toilets (20.5%) and
other challenges (28.9%) as challenges which particularly affected them. See COMESA (2022). Border Profiling
Survey Mwami, Chirundu, Kasumbalesa and Nakonde (Zambia) and Gender Assessment annex for more details.
13
The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is in the process of negotiating a concession with
GRZ and GRT to operate TAZARA.
14
The inadequacy of the railway network has dissuaded mine owners from building connecting tracks
(infrastructure) to the main lines.

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a road, heavy rains in high climate risk districts exacerbate the situation further damaging the roads and
often making them impassable. For example, in 2018/19 and 2019/2020, full access to the Serenje Mpika
road was disrupted for a period of one to two weeks.
17. The Government of Zambia is committed to attracting private capital and private participation
to the transport sector. Along the North-South corridor, the Government of Zambia awarded a Public-
Private-Partnership (PPP) concession for the development of the Lusaka-Ndola Road. The 317 km route
constitutes the busiest road section in the Zambian road network and carries most of DRC’s international
trade. In addition to this concession, GRZ is advancing other PPP concessions in the road sector. The World
Bank is currently supporting GRZ in identifying the appropriate approaches to PPPs in the road secto15r.
GRZ is also pursuing PPP opportunities in the rail sector.

18. Realizing the full potential of the corridor investments requires structural reforms and capacity
building in other economic sectors. Zambia’s arable land of 40 million hectares is far from being utilized
to its full potential. GRZ recognizes that increasing agriculture and agribusiness are critical for improving
incomes and food security, reducing poverty, and creating a more diversified and resilient economy.
Amongst the key challenges that face the transformation of the sector and that need to be addressed in
addition to the quality of infrastructure and logistics systems is the inadequate enabling environment
(notably the investment climate), structural barriers to agricultural productivity, and limited ability to
cushion external shocks. Substantial investments in infrastructure will not yield the full benefits unless
these structural barriers are removed. World Bank operations under implementation and under
preparation are targeting these barriers.16 Gender inwquality also presents one of the challenges in the
agriculture sector, where women’s share of employment is 57 percent of men, compared to 46 percent
in SADC region.17 However, women’s productivity, measured in yields (kilogram per hectare) is lower due
to the different dimensions of gender inequality in the agricultural sector.18
19. Similar to the agriculture sector, the participation of women in the transport sector is also low.
Women participation rates in the transport, warehousing, and communications, and construction is 6
percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.19 GRZ is committed to addressing issues of informality and
unemployment by promoting women’s participation in non-traditional sectors such as construction.
Barriers for women employment in the logistics sector are believed to be gender stereotypes,
inconvenient work hours and other factors. Considering schools offering logistics curricula are interested
to attract female candidates, there is an opportunity to create a future pipeline of women in logistics
through capacity building and collaboration with universities in the country.

15
Technical Assistance: Development of PSP options for road infrastructure (P179195).
16
ZATP-II is addressing access to markets and finance to promote the firm growth in Zambia’s agribusiness sector;
the Improved Rural Connectivity Project (IRCP; P159330), is addressing rural accessibility challenges; and the
Zambia Second Macroeconomic Stability, Growth And Competitiveness DPF (P181011) (currently under
preparation) will help remove agricultural market distortions.
17
UNCTAD (2018). Teaching Material on Trade and Gender. Trade and Gender Linkages: An Analysis of the
Southern African Development Community. New York and Geneva.
18
Including limited access to transport and infrastructure, access to land, credit and inputs, and unequal work burden because
of gender norms where women are responsible for most of the housework.
19
ILOSTAT: International Labor Organization Statistics website.
https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer32/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=EAP_2EAP_SEX_AGE_NB_A

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C. Relevance to Higher Level Objectives

20. The proposed program is aligned with the objectives of the World Bank’s current Country
Partnership Framework (CPF) for Zambia for FY19-FY2320 and with Zambia’s 2022-2026 8NDP.21
Supporting the CPF, SoP1 will contribute to achieving objective 3.2 (increasing trade and infrastructure
for economic integration and shared natural resources management with the broader region), objective
1.1 on agricukture sector diversification, objective 1.2 on rural communities climate resilience, and 1.3 on
increasing access to resilient infrastructure. SoP1 also supports the realization of economic
transformation and job creation under the 8NDP by responding to the plan’s strategy for the improvement
of transport and logistics, including the development of the roads and rail sectors, and trade and logistics
facilitation.
21. SoP1 also contributes directly to regional integration and increased trade sought by the AU and
the RECs. Tanzania will benefit from the increased efficiency of the Dar es Salaam Corridor in line with
Objective 1.7 (capture Tanzania’s potential as a maritime gateway and regional trade hub) under Focus
Area 1 to enhance productivity and accelerate equitable and sustainable growth in the Tanzania FY18-
FY23 CPF.
22. SoP1 meets the criteria for IDA Regional Program Funding as: (i) The series cover a minimum of
two countries (Zambia and Tanzania) starting with SoP1 in Zambia. Tanzania is expected to follow with
the country investing its own resources in the SoP1 corridor (see para 23) and with recent investment on
a key section by the World Bank; (ii) it contributes to transport connectivity in the region; (iii) the eventual
expected full transport efficiency gains will only be achieved with the direct and integrated involvement
of the countries sharing the corridors; (iv) the benefits can only be adequately achieved through the
implementation of an integrated set of infrastructure, trade and development facilitation activities in
Zambia and neighboring countries; (v) the program enhances competition among transport corridors in
the region; and (vi) the target corridors are SADC and EAC regional corridors serving Eastern and Southern
Africa. The funding from the regional integration IDA for SoP1 is estimated at US$180 million, with a PBA
IDA allocation of US$90 million.
23. Tanzania is fully committed to the development of the regional Dar es Salaam Corridor. While
SoP1 only covers Zambia (with Tanzania expected to follow), Tanzania’s commitment is evident through
(i) the 2009 bilateral agreement for the establishment of the OSBP at Tanduma (Tanzania)/Nakonde
(Zambia), (ii) the 2015 Bilateral Agreement between Tanzania and Zambia on cross border freight road
transport, and (iii) the June 2023 Communiqué between the two countries to review and resolve transport
challenges along the Dar es Salaam Corridor. Moreover, GRT has used, and continues to use its own
resources for developing sections of the corridor22 and has recently requested US$ 155 million in

20
Country Partnership Framework for Zambia FY19-FY23; World Bank Group, 2018. Available at:
https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/epdf/10.1596/31132. SoP1 contributes directly to CPF key focus areas: (1) territorial
development especially for the rural poor; and (3) stronger institutions for resilience.
21
https://www.zambiaembassy.org/document/eighth-national-development-plan-8ndp-2022-2026
22
GRT received a US$210 million for the first phase of the Southern Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Program
(P120370) which closed in December 2020. The project financed a 138 km of the Mafinga-Igawain section of the Dar
es Salaam Corridor. GRT is using its own resources for the following two sections: Construction of the Uyole – Mbeya
City Bypass (48.9km) and rehabilitation of the Igawa – Tunduma road section (218 km). Design for both sections was
completed in 2021, contractor has been procured and the projects will be implemented under an Engineering,
Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement.

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Additional Financing from the World Bank for increasing the capacity of the Dar es Salaam port, of which
40 percent of the throughput serves Tanzania’s neighbors.23
24. SoP1 is consistent with Zambia’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC),24 the
National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA),25 and the National Policy on Climate Change (NPCC).26
As one of the least contributors to global GHG emissions,27 Zambia places significant importance and
priority on adaptation to climate change impacts to enhance the resilience of its population, ecosystems,
infrastructure, productive and health systems. Zambia’s updated NDC includes the transport sector in its
mitigation and adaptation objectives but does not prescribe specific mitigation and adaptation measures
for the transport sector. Zambia’s climate policies include, among others, strengthening mechanisms for
identifying risks and hazards to facilitate planning, strengthening the resilience of infrastructure, and
coping strategies for drought, flooding, and extreme heat that include income diversification and trading
other commodities for food and food rationing, and strengthening early warning systems, emergency
preparedness, early evacuation and improving drainage systems. SOP1 aims to enhance the climate
resilience of the Dar es Salaam road corridor and of other transport corridors in the country and will the
support the development of a Green Strategy for the Transport Sector and a strategy and action plan for
improving the capacity and efficiency of railways, among other activities that support the development of
a climate resilient low-carbon transport sector.
25. SoP1 will contribute to the WBG’s enhanced mission to create a world free of poverty on a
livable planet. It aims at improving efficiency, connectivity and climate resilience on a major corridor
between Zambia, Tanzania and DRC, which will boost the productivity and improve their economic
resilience. It is consistent with the World Bank’s Green, Resilient, Inclusive Development (GRID)
approach,28 as improved transport connectivity will help create, and improve access to, employment
opportunities. SoP1 is also consistent with the upcoming Gender Strategy 2024-30 which aims to expand
women’s economic opportunities. Furthermore, SoP1 aligns with the World Bank’s Climate Change Action
Plan (FY21–FY25), which aims to advance the climate change aspects of GRID,29 and the World Bank’s
Africa Climate Change Business Plan, which highlights the importance and urgency of ramping up climate-
smart development that addresses climate impacts and risks.30

23
This is under the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (IDA-61170) (P150496).
24
Zambia’s Nationally Determined Contribution; 2021. Available at:
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/Final%20Zambia_Revised%20and%20Updated_NDC_2021_.pdf
25
Formulation of the National Adaptation Programme of Action on Climate Change - Final Report; Ministry of
Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources; September 2007. Available at:
https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/napa/zmb01.pdf
26
National Policy on Climate Change; Ministry of National Development Planning; April 2016. Available at:
https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/zam174957.pdf
27
Despite being one of the lowest GHG emitters, Zambia’s NDC pledges to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
by 25 percent by 2030 against 2010 base year emissions, with limited international support, and by 47 percent
with substantial international support.
28 World Bank Group, Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (Washington, DC: World Bank,2021), Link.
29World Bank Group, World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan 2021–2025: Supporting Green, Resilient, and Inclusive
Development (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021), Link.
30
World Bank Group, 2020. The Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan, Washington, DC. URL:
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/e44b41cc-9835-5acb-bce5-d5718bccb7bb

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Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

26. SoP1 also aligns with the World Bank’s commitment to enable and mobilize private capital for
development and GRZ’s strategic priority for mobilizing private capital in the 8NDP.31 SoP1 will support
the enabling environment in Zambia and help identify potential PPP modalities for delivering sustainable
and resilient regional road projects with a particular focus on the Nacala corridor and supporting SMEs.
C. Proposed Development Objective(s)

Development Objective(s) (From PAD)

27. The PDO of the SoP is to improve efficiency, connectivity and climate resilience of key regional
transport and trade corridors in Eastern and Southern Africa. The SoP will follow a consistent approach in
terms of PDO and project design to ensure maximum synergy and cross learning for all stakeholders
involved.
28. The PDO of SoP1 is to improve year-round transport and trade connectivity between Zambia and
Tanzania and expand economic activity along the Dar es Salaam Corridor in Zambia.

Key Results

29. The following PDO level indicators will be used to measure the outcomes specified in the PDO
statement:
i) Travel time between Lusaka (Zambia) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
ii) Border clearance time at Nakonde (Zambia border) (for trucks)
iii) Beneficiary SMEs, along the corridor, with increased revenues (disaggregated by
gender)
iv) Road fatalities along the Serenje-Mpika road section
v) Population benefiting from the climate resilient Serenje-Mpika road section

D. Project Description

30. The Project will improve transport and trade facilitation along the Dar es Salaam Corridor by
rehabilitating the Serenje-Mpika section of the corridor, developing a One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at
Nakonde, and converting the corridor into a SMART corridor.32 The project will further prepare studies for
two other key corridors, namely the Nacala Transport Corridor and the Trans-Caprivi Corridor, and will
enhance the institutional capacities to manage the regional road-rail corridors. The project also aims at
maximizing the social inclusion and socio-economic opportunities along the corridor.
31. The overall project cost is US$270 million (100 percent financed by an IDA grant), implemented
over six years, and structured around the four components described below.
i. Component 1: Resilient transport and trade facilitation systems along the Dar es Salaam Corridor and
preparatory studies for ensuing corridors under the SoP (US$234 million)

31
Zambia’s 8NDP lists three ‘outcomes’ under this strategic development area, including the development of
industrialized and diversified economy, enhanced citizenry participation in the economy and a competitive private
sector
32
Safety, Mobility, Automated, Real-time Traffic Management (SMART) corridor.

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Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

ii. Component 2: Corridor-oriented development (US$21 million)

iii. Component 3: Sectoral capacity development and project management (US$15 million)
iv. Component 4: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) – (US$0.0)
.
.
Legal Operational Policies
Triggered?

Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No

Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No

Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts

.

32. The environmental risk rating is High. The high rating is mainly due to RDA’s inadequate E&S
performance on IRCP. This is the result of (i) lacking enforcement of the Health Safety Management Plan
by the contractors and a lack of oversight by the Supervising Consultants; (ii) unfilled OHS/E&S specialist
positions within the Consulting Engineers and contractor’s organization resulting in selected E&S non-
compliance issues at project sites; and (iii) a lack of enforcement using the available range of contractual
penalties. The Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) will be reviewed when RDA and its PIU
take positive action and improve their own E&S culture, ensure the Supervising Engineers and Monitoring
Consultants on IRCP and TRACER are exercising the full range of their responsibilities to ensure
contractor’s compliance to the agreed and approved ESCP, E&S and OHS mitigation measures and plans.
The PIU should also exercise the appropriate level of contractual remedies to enforce the provisions of
the contracts for consultants and contractors under IRCP and the proposed project. Substantial technical
capacity support will be required during project implementation to implement the project in a manner
which meets the ESF requirements.

33. The social risk rating has been assessed as High, primarily due to land acquisition, involuntary
resettlement impacts (including physical and economic displacement), and restrictions on land use, risks
of SEA/SH due to labor influx, and capacity constraints to manage the social risks. The activities under
components 1 and 2 will pose most of the social risks. The potential negative effects will be evaluated
once the ESIA report is completed.

34. The required actions to manage E&S risk management include: (i) update the ESIA and RAP for
the Serenje-Mpika section by an independent and qualified expert(s)33; (ii) conduct E&S screening of the
OSBP at Nakonde and weighbridge and develop appropriate E&S instruments to manage E&S risks and
impacts during project implementation, (iii) the development of Health Safety Management Plans and
Contractor’ ESMPs (CESMPs) before the implementation; (v) the draft Environmental and Social

33
The ESIA will require approximately six months to update, clear and disclose. To allow project development and
to satisfy the 120 day Pelosi Amendment the previous ESIA (under safeguards) was disclosed in September 2023

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Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

Commitment Plan (ESCP) disclosed before appraisal and updated after negotiations; (vi) Labor
Management Procedures (LMP) and Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) disclosed before project
appraisal and; (vii) an SEA/SH Action Plan and an accountability and response framework consisting of
procedures detailing how to respond to SEA/SH allegations disclosed before board approval. The E&S risk
classification will be re-assessed during project implementation.

E. Implementation

Institutional and Implementation Arrangements

The Recipient for SoP1 will be the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP) and the implementing
agency will be NRFA. TRACER will be implemented through a three-tier structure: (i) a Steering Committee (SC)
consisting of the Permanent Secretaries to meet bi-annually, or more frequently as needed, to oversee overall
project implementation and help ensure satisfactory progress., (ii) Technical Committee (TC) consisting of the
focal points from the ministries at Directors levels to oversee implementation and (iii) the Project
Implementation Unit to manage the day to day activities of the project, supported by focal points (component
managers) from the respective ministries and agencies.

CONTACT POINT

World Bank

Aymen Ahmed Osman Ali

Senior Transport Specialist

Moustafa Baher El-Hefnawy

Lead Transport Economist

Borrower/Client/Recipient
Ministry of Finance and National Planning
Situmbeko Musokotwane
Minister
[email protected]
Implementing Agencies

The National Road Agency Fund (NRFA)

Wallece Mumba
CEO
[email protected]

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Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) (P180801)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

The World Bank

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone: (202) 473-1000
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects

APPROVAL

Aymen Ahmed Osman Ali

Task Team Leader(s):
Moustafa Baher El-Hefnawy
Approved By

Practice Manager/Manager:

Country Director: Boutheina Guermazi 18-Dec-2023

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