The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has approved a $135 million package to the Union of the Comoros – its largest ever to the Indian Ocean archipelago – to finance a major maritime and regional trade project.

The support for the Maritime Corridor and Regional Trade Facilitation Project (PACMFCR) will enable the extension and modernisation of two ports essential to the economic development of the islands of the Union of the Comoros and the establishment of a special economic zone.

The project is financed by a $133 million grant from the African Development Fund (https://apo-opa.co/4fyQejy), the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, and another grant of $2 million from the Transition Support Facility (https://apo-opa.co/4d0X7Z7), a Bank Group facility for Transition states.

The Union of the Comoros has three ports located in Moroni (Grande Comores), Mutsamudu (Anjouan) and Boingoma (Mohéli). Around 90% of freight to and between the three islands of the Comoros archipelago is transported by sea.

The country has an enormous potential for the blue economy – fisheries, agriculture and tourism sectors. However, the development of this potential is hampered by major structural challenges, notably the poor quality of port infrastructure which leads to high costs of doing business and increased vulnerability to external shocks.

The project will improve the Union of the Comoros' national and international connectivity by upgrading port infrastructure, promoting regional integration and creating an ecosystem conducive to the development of value chains.

“The project, which has just been approved by the Boards of Directors of the Bank Group, aims to increase the capacity and efficiency of the ports of Moroni and Boingoma to meet current and future needs. It will help develop local value chains in fisheries and agriculture sectors, and facilitate inter-island and regional trade. This is a flagship project of the Plan Comores Émergent, which will certainly help to improve the living conditions of the Comorian population and reduce Comoros' vulnerability to climate change” stated the Bank's Director General for Eastern Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo.

The project will be co-financed by several institutions including the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Agence Française de Développement.

To accommodate ferries and fishing boats, the port of Moroni will be expanded by a new 240 metre quay and the port of Boingoma by a 136-metre quay.

To facilitate regional trade, the project will support the modernisation of the customs administration, the establishment of a national single window for trade and business facilitation, and the development of a special economic zone to support import and export logistics.

The project will boost the country's agricultural potential by capitalising on the improved infrastructure at the two ports.

The project caters for gender issues. It involves the construction of 10 fisheries products stores, equipped with solar-powered cold rooms and refrigerated island transport solutions adapted to women's needs, close to each of the ports.

It will support women's cooperatives by providing them with deep-freezing equipment for the production and processing of fisheries and agricultural products.

The African Development Bank is the Union of the Comoros' leading development partner in the transport sector.