PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)
CONCEPT STAGE
Report No.: AB4774
Project Name
Region
Sector
Project ID
Borrower(s)
Implementing Agency
Environment Category
Date PID Prepared
Estimated Date of
Appraisal Authorization
Estimated Date of Board
Approval
Abyei Start Up Emergency Project
AFRICA
Water supply (52%);Sub-national government administration
(26%);General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector
(16%);Health (6%)
P116923
GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY-SUDAN
Abyei Area Administration
[ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined)
April 15, 2009
April 16, 2009
April 22, 2009
1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement
Almost four years after the signing of the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), Sudan is still
slowly transitioning from managing conflict to pursuing pro-poor development, which is characterized by
high needs, limited and uneven capacity, and rapidly increasing oil revenues. A controversial Darfur
Peace Agreement, with intensive efforts on security and political fronts, is taxing the efforts of the
international community to engage with the Government of National Unity (GoNU). In the last three
years, much of the donor community’s attention was oriented towards Darfur, and the UN’s efforts
elsewhere have been crowded out by the humanitarian imperative in Darfur.
The 2005 CPA makes a provision for 70 percent of National Development Reconstruction Funds to be
targeted to the least developed states in North Sudan, reflecting the recovery and development needs of
these areas as well as their pivotal role in sustained peace and security. Within this group of least
developed states, the particular status of the Three Areas – Abyei, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan – was
recognized in the CPA through specific protocols. These protocols establish a special status under the
Presidency for Abyei, and the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states with their own constitution and
legislative bodies.
The first Sudan Consortium, held in Paris on March 9-10, 2006, noted that since the signing of the CPA,
the three transitional areas of Abyei, Blue Nile and South Kordofan had not received the expected
resources, which can aggravate the existing political instability in the region. Since then, start-up projects
have commenced for Blue Nile and South Kordofan states but no intervention has targeted Abyei. The
quick formulation and start-up of a recovery project for Abyei – including quick impact interventions – is
therefore expected and desirable. This will require particular attention from, and coordination and
interaction between, the national authorities, the international community (donors), the MDTF-National,
the UN, and NGOs.
Implementation of the CPA in all Three Areas is behind schedule, but in some areas recovery is moving
rapidly. Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are returning and humanitarian and development agencies are
scaling up activities. Opportunities for households to invest more in agriculture have increased; there is a
significant increase in food and cash income derived mainly from the benefits of increased stability and
movement. However, there remain significant disparities between the Three Areas and the national
average, and significant internal disparities between the more and less war-affected areas. Further, Abyei
itself is poorly serviced by international assistance while continuing to be affected by impediments to
development such as water-scarcity.
The key development issues being addressed by this project are socio-economic and include interventions
addressing the access to basic services (water, health), local government infrastructure, and some support
to the economic development of the population all of which are designed to contribute to peace promotion
in this highly sensitive area.
2. Proposed objective(s)
The Project Development Objective is to contribute in equipping the Abyei local administrations with the
resources to oversee recovery of the conflict-affected region and to supply some basic services and rural
livelihood support in targeted areas
Progress towards the above outcomes would be measured and monitored based on the following key
performance indicators:

60% of the Abyei Road Map recovery plan achieved;

number of representative inter-group/ cross-political planning meetings held by the four local
administration bodies;

50 % increase in use of Abyei hospital;

60% of water sources delivered by project being maintained and operated 12 months after
delivery;

30% increase in agricultural production in targeted areas of livelihood support.
3. Preliminary description
The project will consist of the following five components each implemented in parallel.
Component 1: Locality Administration Support:
This component will support decentralization in the area to allow the four Abyei localities to play an
integral role in the Abyei Area Administration through provision of facilities and resources that will allow
them to function and fulfill their respective localities’ recovery through planning, developing, and
implementing essential programs and projects. The component envisages the provision of basic office
facilities for local authorities in each of four localities.
Component 2: Water Supply:
This component will support the construction and rehabilitation of improved water sources throughout
Abyei, with the objective of providing access to potable water on a reasonable per capita per day rate for
both human use and livestock watering needs. Management of these water points is a critical issue which
will be tackled by establishing community water resource management committees in and from each of
the beneficiary areas. Since water points were one of the main reasons for conflict between
agriculturalists and pastoralists, care will be taken in selection of management teams which will be
formed of both sides. User fees will be collected by the community committees according to area, size of
household and heads of livestock.
Component 3: Rural Development (Agriculture):
Agriculture is the primary livelihood for the Abyei community. The productivity of this sector was
disrupted by the 20 year civil war and continues to be hampered by a lack of equipment and resources.
This component will coordinate the community cultivation of 10,000 feddans over the next rainy season.
5,000 households, targeted equally between Dinka and Misseriya tribes, will be involved in this project
which is expected to have a total 25,000 poor and marginalized rural community beneficiaries. This
component envisages the procurement of essential equipment including tractors which will raise
productivity beyond subsistence levels, 750 sacks1 of sorghum seeds for which the area has a comparative
advantage (fruit and vegetable seeds are being supplied by FAO) and distribution of 12,500 sets of
(Khartoum purchased) hand tools (62,500 beneficiaries including returnees and IDPs, Dinka and
Misseriya). There are currently no storage facilities for grain which is another comparative advantage
commodity for the area and as such this component also envisages the construction of two (20 x 10 x 4
metre) grain stores.
This sub-project will have 87,500 total beneficiaries; the sub-project will target returnees, war-affected
populations, Dinka and Misseriya.
Component 4: Contributing to the rehabilitation of Abyei Hospital (Health):
This component will contribute in the rehabilitation of the Abyei Hospital building and its major
departments (laboratory, delivery room, operating and small theatres), which were severely damaged by
the war. The component will also provide necessary basic equipment to allow the respective departments
to function.
According to WHO estimates, this Hospital is conceived as the main referral centre in the area with
ability to provide secondary level care but presently provides rudimentary medical services to the
population. It can receive more than 200 patients / day for outpatient treatment besides 7-10 new
admissions / day and 7-8 deliveries / week.
Component 5: Implementation of a Project Coordination Unit (Project management):
The project will fund technical assistance for the coordination of the project.
A Project Coordination Unit (PCU) will be established within the Abyei Area Administration (AAA).
Besides overall coordination responsibilities (including the preparation of the quarterly reports for all
components), the PCU has also an implementation role to play for the project's (sub-) components. A
group of consultants with accounting, procurement and project management expertise will be recruited to
work together with a group of appointed young AAA staff to operate the Project Coordination Unit
(PCU). For funds routed through the unit, the group of consultants will provide overall management and
the full range of accounting and procurement services, including reporting based upon global best practice
and international accounting standards. Monitoring of self-managed financial management and
procurement responsibilities will form a key part of this support.
1
One is sack is 90kg
4. Safeguard policies that might apply
Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01): is triggered due to the planned construction and rehabilitation
activities as well as the generation of medical waste at the hospital.
Pest Management (OP/BP 4.09): To ensure a longer shelf life for stored grain it is likely that the Abyei
community may resort to pesticides use to prevent infestations by grain borer or weevils and attack by
fungal and bacterial diseases. The use of pesticides will not be financed, nor is it part of any of the
project’s components but potential use by the community will be tackled by the ESMF.
5. Tentative financing
Source:
Borrower
Multi-donor Trust Fund for North Sudan
Total
6. Contact point
Contact: Abderrahim Fraiji
Title: Senior Operations Officer
Tel: 5346+3022 / 243-9-9817-2603
Fax:
Email: afraiji@worldbank.org
Location: Khartoum, Sudan (IBRD)
($m.)
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