The Minister of Development, territorial equipment and public works, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Round Table of Technical and Financial Partners, Jean Jacques Bouya , took part, on April 5, 2019 in Abidjan, in Côte d'Ivoire, at the preparatory meeting for the donors' round table for the funding of development projects on the Ouesso-Bangui- N'Djaména road and navigation on the Congo River and its Oubangui and Sangha tributaries as well as the construction of the road-rail bridge between Brazzaville and Kinshasa with the extension of the Kinshasa Ilébo railway. The meeting was preceded by a visit to the headquarters of the African Development Bank.

All actors involved in the studies and the realization of these projects were present at this meeting.

The meeting enabled participants and experts from the countries concerned by these integrative projects, namely the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Chad, and officials of the African Development Bank  and Africa 50 in charge of studies of the road-rail bridge between Brazzaville and Kinshasa, and of the Economic Community of Central African States to inquire about the progress of the appraisal of projects ; to present the roadmap of the preparatory activities of the round table and to discuss the budget of the event and the strategy of identification and approach of the technical and financial partners. 

After the introductions, some observations were made , including confirming the date of the round table for June 20, 2019 ; in this regard, related preparatory activities were initiated ; refining of project presentations to make them more dynamic and attractive ; taking into account the concerns of technical and financial partners and private investors, and to this end, proceed with phasing while taking into account the criteria of economic efficiency and the multimodal approach ; readjusting the provisional budget and finalizing the list of potential donors to invite to the round table ; developing and implementing a communication and outreach strategy , so as to obtain firm commitments at the highest level, and finally considering additional arrangements for better functionality of the projects.     

Opening the meeting, the Director General of the AfDB for the Central Africa region, Dr Ousmane DORE thanked the delegates for having made the trip from Abidjan in order to discuss the practical arrangements for the organization of the round table of technical and financial partners. He stressed that the high-level presence of ministers at this meeting testifies to the interest that the States and ECCAS attach to the effective implementation of these projects. The Director General of the AfDB for the Central Africa Region recalled the commitment of his institution, in his capacity as leader of PIDA donors, to assist States in the search for funding with a view to carrying out these two projects.

Insisting on the need to accelerate regional integration, through an increase in infrastructure capital and on the importance of greater involvement of the private sector in the funding of these infrastructure, the Vice-President of the AfDB, Pierre Guislain, in charge of the private sector, infrastructure and industrialization, addressed the question of reforms required to facilitate this dynamic.

Encouraging prospects are envisaged to maximize the participation of all technical and financial partners in order to concretize these projects of sub-regional scope. This is the interpretation of the plea of ​​Minister Jean Jacques Bouya, president of the organizing committee of the round table. “In our African countries, there are still afro-optimists who believe in the objective of unifying Africa through the infrastructure laid out by the fathers of independence. This still alive ambition which is gradually taking shape is pursued by the African Union, particularly within the framework of NEPAD projects. In Central Africa, President Denis Sassou Nguesso, having received a mandate from his peers, is taking on the task of implementing one of the emblematic projects of the road-rail bridge between Brazzaville and Kinshasa. It is for this reason that we participate in the preparatory meeting for the holding of the round table. The adoption of the roadmap after the technical presentations of these projects reassures experts from the Congo, CAR, DRC, Chad as well as those of ECCAS and the AfDB on the successful outcome of projects”, Said Minister Jean Jacques Bouya.   

ECCAS Deputy Secretary General, Marie Therèse Chantal Mfoula, took the opportunity to express her thanks to the AfDB for its multifaceted support in improving the living conditions of the populations of Central Africa. She took the commitment, on behalf of ECCAS, to ensure the implementation of ensuing recommendations for an efficient organization of the round table.

The AfDB Vice-President welcomed the results achieved by the stakeholders and thanked the African Development Bank group for their warm welcome in Abidjan and the facilities offered to the various delegations.