Aptech Africa’s Bangui office recently completed the rehabilitation of the 45km Bossangoa-Ouham Bac section, including the construction of 78 reinforced concrete hydraulic structures (scuppers). This project is part of the Support Project for Agricultural Recovery and Agribusiness Development in the Central African Republic (PRADAC), aims to improve access to agricultural areas. These scuppers will make it easier for vehicles to pass and ensure better drainage on the road.
The Bossangoa sub-prefecture is located 305 km from Bangui, in the north-west of the Central African Republic. With a population of 67,214 inhabitants, its economic potential is based on agriculture (cotton), fishing, livestock farming and bee-keeping. Every year, during the rainy season, the roads are prone to flooding, isolating entire communities and exposing the population to major health risks from mosquitoes attracted by pools of stagnant water.
As a result, access to the most isolated areas of Bossangoa has become difficult or impossible for several weeks, sometimes months, due to flooded or damaged roads and bridges. Only about 2.5% of the roads in the Central African Republic are paved. This makes it difficult to reach isolated communities by vehicle, especially during the rainy season.
Therefore, Aptech Africa is proud to take on the challenge to rehabilitate the Bossangoa-Ouham Bac road in CAR, which will benefit several residents of the community, this is an important step towards opening up the entire sub-region and making basic agricultural products more accessible to the population. The Bossangoa-Ouham Bac section will give farmers better access to markets to sell their crop products and buy agricultural inputs. In addition, it will improve access to basic social services, such as schools and medical clinics, and facilitate humanitarian activities.
To ensure the long-term effectiveness of this farm road, an environmental management plan and mitigation measures have been drawn up to correct or avoid potential negative impacts and maximize positive impacts. Aptech Africa team of expert’s engineers planted trees to reforest the affected surrounding area after work implantation and to help maintain the balance of the region’s eco-system. Trucks and passenger cars can now travel without incident. Even during the rainy season, people can work or go to the market, and children can go to school. The rehabilitation of agricultural feeder roads as part of this project aims to boost the country’s development from rural areas, connecting communities and creating new economic opportunities but can also do much more, such as opening up employment opportunities, improving social cohesion and consolidating peace.
