The World Bank has announced that it has given Yemen a $133.5m grant to build the first part of a 710km highway connecting the northern and southern parts of the country.

The scheme, the largest ever civil infrastructure project in Yemen’s history, will play a vital role in the country’s transition by targeting the root causes of instability, such as lack of access to economic opportunities and poor national integration, and rebuilding the country’s social and economic base, the bank said.

“This is more than just a road project, it will make a significant contribution to future stability and growth,” said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. “Development is essential right now in Yemen and across the region to give meaning to political achievements and show what peace can deliver – which is why we are mobilising resources and building partnerships to support more of these transformational projects.” 

The grant will finance the construction of the first, critical section of the highway. The Bank’s Corridor Highway Project, combined with a parallel $320m project financed by the Saudi Fund for Development, will build 140km of road linking the port city of Aden with Taiz.

This initial stretch of highway will connect two areas of the former South and North Yemen, bridging one of the country’s main political fault lines, and cross three governorates where one fifth of the country’s poor are located.

The Bank’s Corridor Highway project is expected to be completed within three to four years, and create around 4,000 jobs. The large-scale construction will also offer opportunities for Yemeni contractors and the providers of various goods and services. In addition, the project will include training for the Ministry of Public Works and Highways to expand their capacities to manage the new highway.

“Yemen has outgrown its old road network and badly needs new infrastructure that will help it grow and solidify its unity,” said engineer Omar Abdullah al-Korshomi, Yemen’s Minister of Public Works and Highways. “Our aim is to establish an effective road network that will support the country’s transformation. We are laying the foundation by implementing the first stage of the Saadah to Aden Yemen International Corridor Highway, which will connect the extreme north and south, link 8 governorates, and serve, directly and indirectly, almost 15 million people, while  expanding the benefits of internal and international trade.”

By linking the port of city of Aden with the interior, and ultimately Yemen with Saudi Arabia and beyond, the highway will be a catalyst for international trade. Rural populations will be better connected to key services located in urban centres. The construction of the highway will also include a duct for laying a new fibre optic cable that could become the foundation for Yemen’s new information highway. While focused on the building of the first section between Aden and Taiz only, the project will also prepare the technical studies needed for the other sections, to help attract the funding for the completion of the entire Saadah to Aden highway corridor.

In May, the Ministry awarded India’s Punj Lloyd a contract to build a portion of the road project. The company said it has received a Letter of Award from the Ministry for the construction of a 42km, two to three-lane dual highway between Doraigh and Noubat Dokaim in Yemen.

The contract, valued at $211.4m, is being funded by the Saudi Development Fund. Located 60km from the port city of Aden, the work involves excavation of more than 10 million cubic metres, road paving, surface sealing, two major concrete overpass bridges, and box and associated infrastructure work.

In January, the Ministry invited companies to prequalify for contracts to build the first part of the planned Corridor Highway.