Madagascar’s Transport Infrastructure Gets a Major Boost with World Bank Group Support

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2026 - Transport infrastructure is the backbone of Madagascar's economy, supporting domestic trade, food supply chains, tourism, and exports. Yet years of underinvestment, compounded by repeated cyclones, have left key corridors vulnerable to disruption or failure. To enhance the efficiency, safety, and climate resilience of transport and logistics infrastructure along the country's most important economic corridors, the World Bank Group has approved a $200 million in financing for the Madagascar Multimodal Transport and Logistics Project.

The project will rehabilitate and strengthen key sections of the iconic Tananarive-Côte Est railway, a 371-kilometer line linking the capital to the country's principal port in Toamasina. It will also support the construction of a rail-road dry port and logistics platform near Antananarivo, helping ease congestion at the port and improve the movement of goods between the coast and the capital.

In the maritime and inland waterway sector, the project will rehabilitate the ports of Majunga in the northwest and Tulear in the southwest by restoring quays, access infrastructure, and essential facilities to ensure year-round operations and greater resilience to cyclones. It will also reopen and rehabilitate around 200 kilometers of the Pangalanes Canal along Madagascar's eastern coast through targeted dredging, bank protection, and modern navigation aids, restoring a critical inland waterway that connects remote coastal communities and supports climate-resilient transport.

In the aviation sector, the project will finance safety, security, and climate-resilience upgrades at regional airports in Toamasina, Fort-Dauphin, and Tulear, helping to maintain domestic connectivity, support tourism, and ensure reliable access for emergency response and disaster relief operations.

Overall, the project is expected to benefit about 3.8 million people by improving access to safer, more reliable, and more resilient transport. Communities and businesses along the northern railway corridor, particularly in Antananarivo, will benefit from more efficient freight services and reduced congestion, while coastal populations, traders, fishers, and tourism operators will gain improved market access through upgraded ports and restored canal navigation. Passengers and tourism-dependent communities will also benefit from safer and more reliable regional air transport, strengthening supply chains and connectivity in cyclone-prone regions.

"Improving transport is a national priority for Madagascar. Weak connectivity remains a major constraint to jobs and economic growth, and this project will help unlock opportunities, strengthen social cohesion, and reduce the isolation of communities across the country. We are grateful to the World Bank Group for renewing its strong engagement in a sector that is critical to our future and for investing in strategic infrastructure that will better connect markets and people," said Dr Hery Ramiarison, Minister of Economy and Finance of Madagascar.

The project also places a strong emphasis on strengthening institutions responsible for managing rail, port, and airport infrastructure, improving safety oversight, and modernizing sector governance. These reforms are essential to improving service quality, ensuring long-term sustainability, and attracting greater private sector participation, particularly in rail and logistics services.

"Madagascar's people deserve a transport system that works for them, not one that fails every time a cyclone or a flood strikes," said Atou Seck, World Bank Group Country Manager for Madagascar. "This project is about building something more durable: a connected country where a farmer in the south, a fisherman on the east coast, or a business owner in Antananarivo can rely on functioning infrastructure year-round. By restoring railways, ports, waterways, and airports together, we are helping Madagascar lower transport costs, protect critical supply chains, and keep people and businesses connected even in the face of climate shocks."

The Multimodal Transport and Logistics Project complements ongoing World Bank investments in Madagascar's road network, including the Madagascar Road Sector Sustainability Project and the Connecting Madagascar for Inclusive Growth Project, which are rehabilitating and upgrading key national and regional roads. Together, these operations bring total World Bank Group financing for transport infrastructure in Madagascar to $1.1 billion and form an integrated approach to strengthening Madagascar's transport system across roads, railways, ports, waterways, and airports.

The Madagascar Multimodal Transport and Logistics Project is expected to receive co-financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Contacts:

In Madagascar: Dia Styvanley, +261 34 78 254 44, [email protected]

In Washington: Daniella van Leggelo-Padilla, +1 (202) 473-4989, [email protected]