Project description
On June 27, 2014, MIGA issued a guarantee of $8.5 million covering an investment by Cotecna Inspection S.A. (COINS) of Switzerland in Cotecna Inspection, S.A., Burundi Liaison Office. The coverage is for a period of up to nine years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, war and civil disturbance, and breach of contract.[1]
COINS will provide services to the government of Burundi on a build-own-operate-transfer basis in return for a monthly operating and management service fee. The project consists of the financing, procurement, installation, and operation of non-intrusive import inspection equipment and an electronic transit monitoring system, including two high-energy mobile X-ray scanners at three customs offices (Bujumbura, Kobero, and Kanyaru); maintenance and technical assistance to the operation; training to the government of Burundi; and transfer of the scanners to the government at the end of the seven-year contract.
The project is expected to contribute to trade facilitation through more efficient verification of imported goods. The audit trail provided by scanned data is also expected to protect government revenues through the elimination of opportunities for fraud and fiscal evasion. Moreover, the project will help strengthen border security by ensuring that containerized goods are not illegal.
Other direct benefits include training, capacity-building for the future handover of operations to the government, and improved public resource management. The project will create approximately 120 jobs.
The World Bank Group’s areas of focus in Burundi include increasing public resource management and governance as well as improving cross-border linkages. The project supports these objectives and it is also aligned with MIGA’s strategic priorities of supporting investments into countries affected by conflict and countries eligible for concessional lending from the International Development Association.
[1] The guarantee was canceled on June 27, 2021.
