According to estimates presented during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office yesterday, World Bank-financed projects totaling 1.085 billion dollars—over 4 trillion ariary—remain suspended due to administrative delays. The government and World Bank teams met at the Mahazoarivo state palace to address the issue.

Administrative slowness comes at a high cost. This conclusion emerged from yesterday's meeting between the government and World Bank officials at the Mahazoarivo state palace. Due to bureaucratic burden, several projects funded by the Bretton Woods institution are stalled. According to the Prime Minister's office statement, these pending projects represent a combined amount of 1.085 billion dollars, equivalent to over 4 trillion ariary. Infrastructure projects, particularly renewable energy initiatives and electrical distribution improvements, are among those on hold awaiting completion of administrative formalities. This is regrettable given that insufficient electricity production has caused rolling blackouts to return.

Yesterday's meeting reportedly focused on removing bottlenecks preventing implementation of World Bank-financed energy projects, with emphasis on renewable energy initiatives. More broadly, the meeting aimed to identify procedural obstacles delaying project execution. Administrative complexity and lengthy validation processes were highlighted as constraints slowing disbursements and project launches.

Delays in compensating affected persons, obtaining land permits, and securing necessary land for construction also block project execution. "These are essential prerequisites before World Bank project implementation. Until these steps are resolved, certain projects remain blocked despite available funding," explained a source close to the matter.

In some cases, missing or insufficient property documents and complex formalization procedures significantly slow compensation processes for affected persons. "Securing financing is not the goal itself. The objective is transforming that financing into concrete projects benefiting the population," Prime Minister Mamitiana Rajaonarison stated during yesterday's meeting.

The Prime Minister emphasized that government action rests on three principles: "speed, impact, and innovation." Accordingly, officials were instructed to remove bottlenecks and accelerate administrative procedures. Eliminating redundant steps and improving compensation payment systems through clearer, faster working methods were proposed solutions.

This administrative gridlock and its impact on international financing disbursements were previously mentioned by Economy and Finance Minister Herinjatovo Ramiarison during a March press conference. Parliament also raised the issue in early July during a government question-and-answer session, with lawmakers highlighting how administrative burden significantly affects budget execution rates and public investment.

Before National Assembly members, Prime Minister Rajaonarison committed to "breaking" the causes of administrative slowness. "We already have a strategy to streamline administrative procedures. If administrative burdens stem from regulatory acts, we will eliminate them," he previously stated.