Building Capacity

After decades of post-independence civil war and political instability, Chad faced a deficit in the quality of its institutions and governance mechanisms.  As the pipeline project was being discussed, everyone realized that these structures would undergo the strains of increased government revenues and spending and the development of its petroleum sector. 

While this reality increased the risks of the project, given the level of poverty in Chad and the need for resources for priority sectors, it was not realistic to wait until capacity was fully developed to implement the project.  The challenge to bring a country from the pre-industrial era to a post-industrial one in a matter of years was daunting. The Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project provided a clear, real and pressing context in which the government could develop its capacity, with the guidance and support of the development community and the World Bank.

The World Bank has several projects in which it helps the government of Chad build its institutions, improve public sector governance, develop the petroleum sector, and improve its ability to efficiently deliver on its poverty reduction objectives.

Even before the World Bank’s support for the Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project was finalized, the World Bank began working with the government of Chad to develop its capacity to absorb and allocate oil revenues to poverty reduction through the  Management of the Petroleum Economy Project.

The  Petroleum Sector Management Capacity Building Project approved at the same time as the Pipeline project, strengthens the government’s ability to manage the petroleum resources within environmental and social sound practices, and establish a framework for private sector investments in the petroleum sector.

In Cameroon, capacity-building focuses on improving the nation’s ability to manage the environmental and social impacts of, and put in place monitoring systems for, the pipeline project through the  Cameroon Petroleum Environment Capacity Enhancement (CAPECE) Project.