On 28 October 2026, the Ministry of Public Works, which oversees the Corridor Development and Trade Facilitation Project (PACFC), officially kicked off in Antananarivo the third phase of the program, placing commercial connectivity between the ports of Toliara and Beira in Mozambique at the forefront. The third component of the Connectivity and Trade Facilitation Support Programme (PACFC III), launched from 28 to 31 October 2026, provides for new road works in the South as well as measures specifically aimed at trade facilitation between the ports of Toliara and Beira.
This phase combines road investments with trade facilitation measures between the ports of Toliara and Beira. Within the PACFC framework, the Malagasy authorities now place explicit emphasis on procedures and processes to facilitate trade between Toliara and Beira, with the aim of opening up the South and anchoring it to regional commerce.
A corridor positioned as a gateway to Southern Africa
PACFC III aims to improve the connection of southern Madagascar with the rest of the country and the African continent, while promoting regional economic integration. According to the Malagasy government, the core objective of the project is to strengthen maritime and logistics links between the port of Toliara and the port of Beira, combining physical infrastructure with efficient procedures so that the road network is effectively transformed into trade flows and the South of Madagascar is connected to COMESA markets and other Indian Ocean islands.
Within this logic, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has already framed dedicated studies on twinning the two ports and on expansion works at Toliara, in order to equip the corridor with port capacity aligned with the expected ramp-up. Detailed preliminary design studies for the extension and modernisation of the port of Toliara are under way, financed under PACFC phase II, and an official from the Port, Maritime and River Authority has indicated that a link with the port of Beira is also planned, with AfDB funding the port twinning studies.
“Soft” infrastructure at the core of trade facilitation
The strengthening of Toliara–Beira connectivity does not rest only on quays and highways, but also on a backbone of “soft infrastructure” – information systems, procedures and regulation – designed to smooth transit. Under phase II of the PACFC, a call for expressions of interest launched studies to define soft infrastructure between Toliara and Beira, covering institutional and regulatory reforms, integrated information systems and port and customs administrative procedures intended to cut cargo processing times and optimise logistics flows. The tender document specifies that these soft infrastructures must improve the operational efficiency of the ports by strengthening coordination between stakeholders, data management and the smooth running of operations between the two terminals.
In parallel, the Malagasy economic authorities embed this component in a broader regional trade facilitation vision, in which Toliara and Beira become critical nodes for intra-COMESA flows. The Ministry of Economy and Finance highlights regional trade facilitation through stronger maritime security, modernised customs procedures and technological innovation, with a particular focus on trade between the ports of Toliara and Beira.
A financial and institutional set-up already in place
On the financing side, the corridor forms part of a multi-phase programme led by AfDB and co-financed by other partners, providing the execution framework for the port and logistics component. On 10 September 2026, AfDB issued a general procurement notice for PACFC phase III, with an overall cost estimated at around 174.66 million units of account, to fund both Southern Madagascar road infrastructure and trade facilitation measures between Toliara and Beira. In phase II, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank approved an amount of USD 1.4 million to support studies and preparation of works on the RN9 Mandabe–Dabara section, under the AfDB-led PACFC II programme, with the aim of strengthening Toliara’s road connection to the rest of the country and to port access points.
The authorities are thus seeking tighter alignment between the RN9, the planned works at Toliara and the Beira shipping leg, in order to structure a genuine sea–land corridor rather than a collection of separate projects. As the executing agency for the PACFC, the Road Authority of Madagascar has already tested this integrated approach in the first project phase, focused on the road section linking Toliara to Analamisampy, which connects road corridors with the South’s port infrastructure.
Lancement d’Antananarivo : calendrier et attentes pour la connectivité Toliara–Beira
The phase III launch in Antananarivo sets an initial political and operational milestone for consolidating the Toliara–Beira link. For businesses, this timeline means that upcoming tenders and contracts for port information systems, digitised procedures and support to exporting SMEs are likely to concentrate on this segment of the corridor in the months following the formal launch of PACFC III in Antananarivo. Authorities indicate that PACFC III will be officially launched between 28 and 31 October 2026, a window that will serve as the framework for presenting the road component and the trade facilitation measures focused on exchanges between Toliara and Beira.