The Establishment of a Navigational Line Between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea (VICMED) is a Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) that is championed by the president of Egypt. The other participating countries in the project are Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The objectives of the VICMED project are to achieve socio-economic integration and cohesion; a sustainable and integrated multimodal transport system; enhanced trade and tourism; and reduced poverty among Nile Basin footprint countries. Expected benefits from the project include deepening regional integration and employment creation. Knowledge transfer, poverty reduction through improved household incomes, a relatively cheaper and environmentally friendly transport mode, and a shorter and direct transport route between Western Europe and Eastern and Central Africa.
The VICMED initiative proposes an integrated navigation and multimodal transport corridor from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea. It is intended to connect Nile Basin countries through river, lake and supporting land-transport infrastructure and to improve access for landlocked countries to international ports and markets.
The project's expected benefits include lower-cost movement of goods, improved regional trade and tourism, employment creation and stronger economic integration. It also requires careful assessment of water-resource, environmental, social, navigational and institutional implications across a large transboundary basin.
The prefeasibility study, which involved consultation with the footprint countries, was completed in 2015 and approved in 2017 by the 3rd Steering Committee for VICMED.
The feasibility study Phase 1 was completed in July 2019 and was funded through a US$650,000 grant from AfDB. It involved the development of an institutional and legal framework for VICMED and conducting a training needs assessment. It also involved preparing the terms of reference for Feasibility Study Phase 2 and carrying out training for countries on inland water transport, which took place in February.
The project aims to determine the feasibility of a sustainable multimodal navigation corridor between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea and to identify the preferred technical, environmental and institutional option. It seeks to improve regional transport connectivity, reduce freight costs and expand access to international markets for Nile Basin countries.
It also aims to support trade, tourism, employment and regional integration while ensuring that navigation development is compatible with transboundary water-management, environmental and social requirements. Phase 2 should provide the evidence needed to define bankable investment components and move the initiative into structuring.