MCDF Grant Paves Way for West-North Transport Corridor Project in Bolivia

A USD3.15 million grant to prepare the West-North Transport Corridor Project, which aims to facilitate trade between landlocked Bolivia, neighboring Brazil, Chile, and Peru, and other international markets, was approved by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Governing Committee during its meeting in Beijing on 22 October. The grant will be managed by CAF – the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and lay the groundwork for it to finance the ensuring investment together with potential partners.

The MCDF grant will support preparatory activities for upgrading a 120-kilometer segment of the West-North Road Corridor, in Bolivia, extending from Caranavi municipality in La Paz to Quiquibey in Beni. The project will help reduce the time and cost to transport goods between the country and Brazil, Chile and Peru, across varied ecological zones and terrain. It will also enable greater regional access to these countries’ Atlantic and Pacific ports through intermodal transport integration, further opening trade.

Key due diligence requirements for the project will be supported by the MCDF grant. Among them include a technical feasibility study, estimation of civil work requirements, such as road widening, paving, bridges, culverts to avoid flooding, and slope stabilization in erosion and mudslide-prone areas, and environmental and social assessments and management plans.

The MCDF grant will additionally support institutional strengthening and capacity building needed for effective road maintenance, monitoring, and risk mitigation, as well as community engagement and other consultative processes.

These measures will help to ensure the West-North Road Corridor’s safety and reliability, connectivity between Bolivia’s agricultural production zones and urban centers and neighboring country markets, climate resilience, and potential to enhance access to health, education, and other public services for local communities, including those in remote locations.

By raising the project’s standards, the MCDF grant will make it possible to satisfy the requirements for its financing by CAF and partners and ultimate delivery.