From Connectivity to Opportunity

Leveraging regional corridors to supportgrowth and development inGuinea CIIPCompetitiveIndustries andInnovationProgram From connectivity toOPPORTUNITY Leveraging regional corridors to supportgrowth and development inGuinea TABLE OF CONTENTS 1Acknowledgmentsp.6Executive Summaryp.9 OverviewWhat are theopportunities? Acknowledgments This report was prepared by a team led by Ernest Sergenti (Senior Economist) andMegha Mukim (Senior Urban Economist), and consisting of Puja Guha (Consultant),Alex Chunet (Land and Geospatial Specialist), Mathilde Sylvie Maria Lebrand (SeniorEconomist), and Boulel Toure (Senior Country Economist). This report has benefitted from numerous exchanges with and guidance fromofficials and experts from the national government, including the Ministry of Planand International Cooperation (MPCI), Ministry of Urban Planning, Housing andRegional Planning, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization(MATD), the Ministry of Public Works (MTP), the Ministry of Economy and Finance(MEF), the Ministry of Budget, the Ministry of Environment and SustainableDevelopment (MEDD), the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Mines and Geology,the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Energy, Hydraulics andHydrocarbons, and the Ministry of Investments and Public-Private Partnerships. Local government officials and experts who provided their insights include theMayor’s offices in Mamou, Kankan, Nzérékoré, and Boké and local representationof the Regional Agency for SMEs and Industry, Habitat and Urbanism Directorate,the Guinean Employment Promotion Agency, Collectivités, Youth Support, TechnicalTraining, Electricité de Guinée, Societé d’Eau de Guinée, the Ministry of Agricultureand Livestock, and the Guinea Transport Union, as well as the Federation of FruitProducers, the Federation of Linyam and Sesame, the Federation of Shea ButterProducers, La Guinéenne des Terroirs and the Sub Contracting Exchange for Boké.We wish to thank all the officials and experts that we met during the research,conceptualization and drafting of this report for their time, insights, and generosity. The team is also very grateful to the European Union (Alexandre Serres and VeerleSmet) and the African Development Bank (Driss Belamine), for sharing studies andinsights; to the PAST project members (René Cousin, Eliot Simpson) for sharing thedraft Plan de Déplacements Urbain (PDU) and for allowing us to use its findings;to Jacques Maffre and the Direction Nationale des Impôts for sharing the informationon the location of commercial activities; to Sory Kouyaté for rich conversations andhis encyclopedic knowledge of the history of urban projects and interventions inConakry; and to Catherine Farvacque-Vitkovíc for discussing the findings of thereport and her accounting of World Bank interventions in Conakry. We would also like to thank colleagues from other global practices who participatedin brainstorming and discussions with the team throughout the course of the projectincluding Marc Navelet (Senior Transport Specialist, IAET2), Federico Antoniazzi(Transport Economist), El Hadji Adama Toure (Lead Agriculture Economist), MarieCaroline Paviot (Senior Agriculture Economist, SLCAG), Mariama Altine Mahamane(Senior Agriculture Economist, SAWA4), Nicolas Perrin (Practice Manager, SAWS1), Kaori Oshima (Senior Social Development Specialist, SEAS1), Abel Bove (SeniorPublic Sector Specialist, EMNGU), Roy Katayama (Senior Economist, ELCPV), IbrahimMagazi (Health Economist), Assane Dieng (Senior Education Specialist, HAWE2),Djamali Ibrahime (Senior Energy Specialist, IAWE2), Boubacar Bocoum (Lead MiningSpecialist, IEEXI), Ellysar Baroudy (Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist,SAWE1), Idriss Deffry (Environmental Specialist, SAWE1), and Mamady Kobele Keita(Environmental Specialist, SAWE1). The team gratefully acknowledges the peer reviews and inputs from thesecolleagues: Somik Lall (Economic Advisor, World Bank), Michele Ruta (DeputyChief, Strategy and Policy Review Department, International Monetary Fund),Aiga Stokenberga (Senior Transport Economist, ILCT1), Anca Cristina Dumitrescu(Consultant, IAWT4), Soraya Goga (Lead Urban Specialist, SAEU3), Thierno HamidouDiallo (Operations Analyst, AWMGN), Thierno Samba Sy (Consultant, IFC CEMIA),Saramory Kampo (Senior Operations Officer, IFC CEMIA), Julie Babinard(Senior Operations Officer, AFEDE), Khaleda Atta, Diana Hristova (Consultant,EAEF1), Micky Ananth (Operations Officer, EAWM1), and Susana M. Sanchez(Senior Economist, OPSCE). Senior management of the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment, and the Urban,Resilience and Land Global Practices and the Country Management Unit providedguidance and strong support throughout the research, including Theo DavidThomas (Practice Manager), Sylvie Debomy (Practice Manager), Nestor Coffi (CountryManager), Coralie Gevers (ex-Country Director, now Chief of Staff), Andrea Coppola(Program Leader), Lars Christian Moller