*WORLD BANK
Africa Region- Number 87- April 2003
Findings Infobnefs reports on Good Practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World
Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region It is published monthly by the Knowledge and Learning Center
on behalf of the Region The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the
World Bank Group.
http://www.worldbank.orglafr/findings
Cfte d'Ivoire: Railway Rehabilitation
The project (1996-2001) objectives were to contribute to the revitalization of the railway transport service
in C6te d'Ivoire in order to promote competitiveness and regional integration through the rehabilitation
of the railway infrastructure and equipment assets. The credit of approximately US$18 million financed
the following project components (1) infrastructure rehabilitation;(ii) equipment rehabilitation and
acquisition, and (c) works supervision and training. The project provided the necessary resources to
finance physical investments on the railway track in support of the private concession of railway
operations on the Abidjan-Ouagadougou-Kaya line jointly awarded by C6te d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso in
1993 and made effective in 1995. Despite the suspension of all Bank-assisted projects since October 30,
2000, almost all contracts and disbursements have been completed; 93 percent of the credit was disbursed
when the project closed. The other partners were the Agence Frangaise de Developpment (France), the
European Investment Bank, the Administration Generale pour la Cooperation et le Developpement
(Belgium).
Impact on the ground
* Railway operations improved dramatically after the concession became effective. Freight levels rose from
293,000 tons in 1994 to 875,000 tons in 2000 against forecasts of 717,000 tons.
* The gross receipts of SITARAIL increased by 36 percent from CFAF 14 billion (US$ 28 million) in 1994 to CFAF
19 billion (US$ 38 million) in 2000.
* The capacity to maintain and rehabilitate transport infrastructure was greatly enhanced. As the original
targets did not seem to be economically justified, the private concessionaire rehabilitated 14 of 20 mainline
locomotives, 12 of 17 shunting locomotives, 247 of 3 11 freight cars, and 20 out of 40 passenger coaches. The
savings were used to finance a much-needed new fiber optic telecommunication trunk line.
* The project had a positive impact on public finance. From a situation where the public railway companies in
Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso were draining public resources through subsidies - the debt of the railway
company totaled CFAF 100 billion ( US$ 200 million), its accumulated deficit totaled CFAF 50 billion (US$100
million ) - after the concession, the concessionaire stopped receiving subsidies and in fact pays all its taxes
and a concession fee for the use of the railway infrastructure, the leasing of the equipment to the landlord
companies and the service of the debt contracted out after the concession became effective.
The "Good Practice Infobrief' series is edited by P C Mohan, Rm J5-055, Knowledge and Learning Center, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW,
Washington D C, 20433. Tel (202) 473-4114, e-mail pmohan@worldbank org
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o Despite a sharp reduction in staffing levels, salaries increased and are competitive with those in the private
sector. Further, working conditions have improved significantly - air-conditioners, computers with Internet
access in offices, better safety for agents on the trains, medical plan benefits with HIV/AIDS sensitization
programs, etc.
Lessons learned
" A landlord company is not an adequate arrangement in railway concessioning. Other mechanisms to monitor
the concession can be implemented which are less costly and at least as efficient.
o The rolling concession arrangement - an innovative feature of this concession - provides the incentive
framework for private participation in railway operations.
o Timely donor contribution to finance large and expensive infrastructure is essential to support the launching
of a concession such as for railway services, which is profitable for the whole economy but does not have a high
financial viability. Donor coordination is a critical aspect here.
" Factoring in realistic time-periods for reaching agreement between governments is essential - while it took
several years to bring the two governments to agreement on the transfer of railway operations to a private
operator, this long period helped to build consensus between borrower agencies and the donors.
This Infobrief has been largely sourced out of Implementation Completion Report no. 23573. For more information,
e-mail Jguillossou@worldbank. org
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Persons accessing the Bank's external website can get more information by clicking on Development Topics, then
on Infrastructure. Bank staff can access this information by clicking on Development Topics, then on Transport.