Burundi rural roads I (route 84) and rural roads II (route 86)

PES covers the period 6/82-6/85 and is based on document review, socioeconomic and price data, interviews with project personnel and beneficiaries, and site visits. The project area has been transformed from an isolated interior to one accessible from Bujumbura in some 3 hours by auto. Both engineering and maintenance work have been satisfactory; RP84 was completed in 12/84, and RP86 is progressing well and at a faster rate. Some 2,000 persons have participated directly in construction, about 100 of whom received training in marketable maintenance, construction, and supervisory skills; it is unlikely, however, that these workers will function as a "trained cadre," as envisioned. Nor will institution building objectives be achieved, due to overreliance on expatriate TA and failure to establish a unit to manage labor-intensive road work. Evidence of favorable socioeconomic impact includes: increased availability of manufactured goods and food staples; occasional taxi-minibus service; and more positive attitudes toward schooling, extension, and extra-regional events. Nutritional and agroeconomic impacts cannot be precisely determined, but large quantities of coffee are expected to be transported out following the 6/85 harvest (although relatively little other produce is being moved by vehicle). The roads have also facilitated the introduction of new varieties, access to agricultural extension and education, and participation in nearby agricultural projects; negative environmental impacts have been minimized by the use of manual (not mechanical) road widening, preservation of mature trees along road edges, and good drainage. Lessons for road projects: equipment and labor inputs must be coordinated; training in marketable skills is a sound investment; provisions should be made for major maintenance (i.e., that requiring heavy equipment) every 3-5 years; attention to forestry and conservation should be encouraged as demand for wood will likely increase; institution building objectives should be explicitly spelled out and provided for; and periodic surveys should be undertaken to document project impacts. Recommendations concern maintenance, dynamiting contracts, and equipment and tools.