The World Bank is continuing to support a controversial oil pipeline project between Chad and Cameroon despite criticism by independent inspectors.

The inspectors claimed the project was harming the environment and failing to meet some objectives.

But a report defending the Bank's role and rejecting the inspectors findings will be discussed on Thursday by its shareholders, including its biggest shareholder - the US.

"Management believes that the bank has made exceptional efforts to apply its policies and procedures and to pursue concretely its mission statement," said Reuters quoting the report.

"Given these actions, management does not agree that, as a result, the requestors' rights or interests have been, or will be, directly and adversely affect by these projects," it added.

Non-governmental organizations and environmental groups have already criticized the Bank's response.

Credibility gap?

The Bank is providing $140m (�90.2m) of the $4bn needed to develop the oil fields in southern Chad and to build a 1,050 km pipeline to an offshore oil-loading facility off Cameroon's coast.

It is the largest US investment project in Africa.

The funding is critical to the credibility of the project, which is led by US oil company Exxon Mobil and includes ChevronTexaco and Malaysia's Petronas.

The report rejected inspectors claims that the environmental impact study was inadequate and that allocating just 5% of revenues to Chad was too little.

It would be unprecedented for the Bank to pull out at this stage of the project.

Pipeline progress

The state-owned Cameroon Tribune newspaper has reported that by 7 June, almost 20 months into the project, 425 km of pipe had been laid; 450 km of road had been renovated or built, including 11 bridges; and optic fibre cable has been laid alongside the pipe.

The paper said �4m ($6.2m; 4bn CFA francs) had been paid out in individual compensation and 1bn CFA francs given to community projects.

Six thousand people have been employed on the project, including 5,500 Cameroonians.