Pana reports from Nairobi that the bank has rated the projects viable for publicprivate investment.

Regional coordinator for Africa Ibrahima Diong told a Nepad technical committee that although the projects required extensive capital, they were worth the investment in terms of benefits to the region.

The projects would be approved at next week's Heads of State summit here on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

Also due consideration at the summit is construction of the Eldoret-Kampala oil pipeline, which Diong insisted was imperative at a time when the road linking Kenya to Uganda via Malaba was "reaching its limit."