AfDB approves US$ 251 million road funding

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved two loans totalling US$ 251 million to support road construction projects in Tanzania and Sierra Leone.

The bulk of the funds, US$ 217 million, will support the second phase of the Tanzanian government's road sector support project. This programme involves upgrading and construction work on the Dodoma-Babati, Tunduru-Mangaka and the Mangaka-Mtambaswala roads, which cover 390 km in the eastern and southern parts of the country.

The AfDB said the total cost of this project was estimated at US$ 330 million. It said the remaining funds would be co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Tanzanian government.

Meanwhile in Sierra Leone, the AfDB approved two grants and a loan amounting to US$ 34 million to support the Matotoka-Sefadu road rehabilitation project in the central-eastern part of the country.

The OPEC Fund for International Development and Sierra Leone's government will contribute the remaining amount for the project, which is estimated to cost US$ 46.1 million.