East Africa Resilient Transport Facility

East Africa’s transport corridors are economic lifelines—and climate vulnerabilities. Roads connecting Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports to landlocked Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan carry billions of dollars in trade annually. But every rainy season, sections wash out. Bridges collapse. Trucks get stuck for days. And the economic cost of these disruptions—spoiled cargo, missed markets, lost income—is enormous.

The East African Community Secretariat is offering up to USD $40 million per corridor package to build climate resilience into these critical transport links. This isn’t just road repair—it’s concessional loans and grants for flood-resistant design, trade facilitation systems, community adaptation, and capacity building that keep goods and people moving despite extreme weather.

For national transport ministries and corridor authorities in East African Community states, this program provides blended financing (concessional loans plus grants for resilience features) to upgrade roads, rail, and inland waterways with climate adaptation built in. The goal is reducing the economic losses from climate-induced transport disruptions while improving trade efficiency and creating opportunities for corridor communities.

What makes this program distinctive is its integration of infrastructure resilience, trade facilitation, and community benefit. You’re not just elevating roads above flood levels—you’re digitizing customs, creating market opportunities for women traders, and building institutional capacity for climate risk management.

At a Glance

What This Funding Covers

The $40 million supports comprehensive corridor resilience:

Climate-Resilient Works ($24 million): East African transport infrastructure faces flooding, landslides, and extreme heat. This component funds elevation of critical road sections above flood levels, improved drainage systems preventing washouts, embankment reinforcement protecting against erosion, bridge upgrades withstanding higher water flows, and heat-resistant pavement for extreme temperatures. These engineering interventions reduce disruption from extreme weather and lower long-term maintenance costs.

Trade Facilitation Systems ($8 million): Moving goods across East Africa involves multiple borders, inspections, and paperwork. This funding supports digital single windows enabling electronic customs clearance, weighbridge automation reducing truck queues, cargo tracking systems providing visibility, and border post infrastructure improving efficiency. Faster clearance means fresher produce reaching markets, lower transport costs, and better government revenue collection.

Community Adaptation ($4 million): Transport corridors pass through communities that depend on them for livelihoods but also suffer when they fail. This component funds livelihood diversification for communities vulnerable to corridor disruptions, roadside markets providing safe trading spaces (especially for women), rest stop safety upgrades including lighting and sanitation, and community resilience planning. Enhanced income opportunities, especially for women traders who dominate cross-border informal trade, build community support for corridor investments.

Capacity Building ($2.5 million): Building resilient corridors requires institutional capacity. This funding supports training for transport agencies on climate risk assessment and management, data analytics for monitoring corridor performance, maintenance planning incorporating climate considerations, and regional coordination mechanisms. Institutionalized resilience planning ensures corridors remain climate-ready long-term.

Beyond the direct financing, selected corridors get engineering peer reviews focusing on flood-resistant design, PPP structuring support for private sector participation, logistics innovation support, and gender and youth employment programs for corridor communities.

Who Should Apply

This program is designed for transport authorities managing critical East African trade corridors. You’re a good fit if:

You’re a National Transport Ministry or Corridor Authority: This includes ministries of transport, infrastructure, or works in EAC member states, corridor authorities managing specific routes (Northern Corridor, Central Corridor, etc.), and national roads agencies with corridor responsibilities. The key is having authority over the corridor segment you’re proposing to upgrade.

You Have Shovel-Ready Projects: The Facility funds implementation, not feasibility studies. You need feasibility studies completed, climate hazard mapping done, economic analysis showing benefits, and environmental and social safeguards underway or complete. If you’re still studying whether a project makes sense, you’re not ready for this financing.

Your Project Is Regionally Coordinated: East African corridors cross borders. You need evidence of regional coordination through EAC protocols or bilateral agreements, alignment with regional corridor master plans, coordination with neighboring countries on connected segments, and participation in corridor management committees. Isolated national projects that don’t connect to regional networks are less competitive.

You Can Demonstrate Climate Vulnerability: The program prioritizes corridors with documented climate risks. You need climate hazard maps showing flood zones, landslide risks, or other vulnerabilities, historical data on weather-related disruptions, economic analysis of climate-related losses, and projections of future climate impacts. Corridors where climate resilience delivers clear benefits are prioritized.

You’re Committed to Inclusive Benefits: Transport corridors should benefit everyone, not just trucking companies. You need frameworks for engaging SMEs along the corridor, gender-responsive employment targets and support services, plans for community adaptation and livelihood support, and mechanisms ensuring corridor benefits reach marginalized groups. Projects that only serve large commercial interests are less attractive.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

Integrate Nature-Based Solutions: The strongest applications don’t rely solely on concrete and steel. Show how you’ll use mangrove buffers protecting coastal road sections, riparian restoration preventing erosion, wetland preservation providing natural flood storage, and green infrastructure managing stormwater. Nature-based solutions often cost less and provide multiple benefits beyond transport resilience.

Quantify Gender-Responsive Employment: East African cross-border trade is dominated by women, but they face specific barriers. Show specific employment targets for women in construction and operations, support services (childcare, safety, sanitation) enabling women’s participation, market infrastructure serving women traders, and tracking systems monitoring gender outcomes. Projects with credible gender strategies score higher.

Demonstrate Regional Value: The Facility prioritizes corridors serving regional trade, not just national interests. Quantify cross-border trade volumes, show how upgrades benefit multiple countries, demonstrate alignment with African Continental Free Trade Area priorities, and provide evidence of regional coordination. Corridors that strengthen regional integration are more competitive.

Show Lifecycle Cost Savings: Climate resilience costs more upfront but saves money long-term. Provide lifecycle cost comparisons showing maintenance savings from resilient design, economic losses avoided by reducing disruptions, benefit-cost ratios over 20-30 years, and sensitivity analyses. Economic justification matters.

Plan for PPP Where Appropriate: Some corridor segments can attract private investment. If relevant, show PPP structuring with clear risk allocation, revenue models (tolls, logistics services, border facilities), private sector interest or commitments, and government support mechanisms. Well-structured PPPs can multiply public investment impact.

Address Customs Harmonization: Physical infrastructure is only part of corridor efficiency. Show how your project supports harmonized customs procedures, digital documentation reducing paperwork, coordinated border operations, and reduced non-tariff barriers. Trade facilitation reforms multiply infrastructure benefits.

Application Timeline

The Facility accepts concept notes on a rolling basis with quarterly investment board meetings in Arusha. Here’s a realistic timeline:

February 2025: Submit concept note including corridor segment description, climate risk screening, preliminary cost estimates, and regional coordination evidence. This is a shorter document (10-15 pages) that gets initial feedback.

March-April 2025: If concept note is approved, develop full proposal including detailed feasibility study, economic analysis, climate risk assessment, and safeguards documentation. This is intensive work requiring technical consultants.

April 2025: Present to technical panel. You’ll pitch your project to engineers, economists, and climate experts who will probe your assumptions and design choices. Be prepared to defend your approach.

May-June 2025: Finalize environmental and social safeguards with community input. Conduct consultations, address concerns, and document how you’ll mitigate impacts.

July-September 2025: Negotiate financing terms including loan interest rates and grace periods, grant allocation for resilience features, disbursement schedules, and performance conditions. This is detailed financial and legal work.

October-December 2025: Sign financing agreement and launch procurement. Once signed, you can begin procuring contractors and equipment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which EAC countries are eligible? All East African Community member states: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Projects can involve single countries or cross-border segments.

What’s the loan-grant mix? It varies by project. Typically, core infrastructure is financed through concessional loans (below-market interest rates, long repayment periods). Resilience features, trade facilitation, and community adaptation get grant funding. The Facility works with you to structure appropriate financing.

Can we apply for rail or waterway projects? Yes, the Facility supports roads, rail, and inland waterways. Most applications are for roads because that’s where most trade moves, but rail and waterway projects are eligible if they’re critical to corridor function.

What if our project crosses borders? Even better. Cross-border projects require coordination between countries, but the Facility can finance both sides. You’ll need joint applications or coordinated separate applications from each country.

How concessional are the loans? Terms vary based on country income level and project characteristics, but typically: 1-3% interest rates, 5-10 year grace periods, and 20-30 year repayment terms. Much better than commercial financing.

Can we combine this with other financing? Yes, and it’s encouraged. The Facility can co-finance with World Bank, AfDB, bilateral donors, or private investors. Blended financing packages are common.

What about ongoing maintenance? You need sustainable maintenance plans and funding. The Facility may finance initial resilience upgrades, but you’re responsible for ongoing maintenance. Show how you’ll fund it (road funds, tolls, budget allocations).

How to Apply

Ready to build climate resilience into your transport corridor? Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Confirm your project is ready. Do you have completed feasibility studies? Climate risk assessments? Environmental and social safeguards underway? If not, complete these first.

Step 2: Ensure regional coordination. If your corridor crosses borders or connects to regional networks, document coordination with neighboring countries and alignment with regional plans.

Step 3: Prepare your concept note including corridor description and strategic importance, climate vulnerabilities and resilience approach, preliminary cost estimates, regional coordination evidence, and expected outcomes (travel time, trade volumes, emissions, employment).

Step 4: Submit concept note to the East African Community Secretariat. Contact information is on their website.

Step 5: If invited, develop full proposal with detailed technical designs, comprehensive economic analysis, complete safeguards documentation, financing structure proposal, and implementation plan.

Step 6: Present to technical panel and respond to questions and feedback.

Step 7: Finalize safeguards, negotiate financing terms, and sign agreement.

Visit the official East Africa Resilient Transport Facility page for detailed guidelines and application materials: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/transport

Questions about eligibility, financing terms, or technical requirements? Contact the EAC Secretariat’s transport division—contact information is available on their website.

East Africa’s economic future depends on resilient transport corridors. If you’re ready to build them, this program can help you finance infrastructure that works despite climate challenges.