CHAD ROAD MAINTENANCE

In this multi-donor project, the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Transport (MEPT) will implement A.I.D. efforts to reorganize the Directorate of Transportation (DOT). The Ministry of Civil Works (MCW) will oversee A.I.D."s training program for Department of Public Works (DPW) personnel. To insure efficient DPW operations, the American ORT Federation will provide 247 DPW mechanics, technicians, and equipment operators with classroom and field training in road maintenance. For the field training, a DPW training/maintenance brigade will be formed to regravel 100 km of main roads annually. Financial rewards will be used to recruit trainees, especially DPW personnel from distant regions. Six participants, e.g., chiefs of workshops, will receive non-degree road maintenance training in Togo and four others will receive practical operator and mechanics foreman training. Five instructors will attend ORT training in Geneva for eventual assignment to the N"Djamena training center. A transport economist will help DOT reorganize and will upgrade the operational capabilities of DOT"s local staff. He will also help DOT collect transportation data, publish a transportation statistics annual report, and prepare other technical reports; coordinate inter-departmental transportation planning and traffic regulation enforcement; and regulate the road transport industry. One participant will receive academic training in transport planning/operations. To improve the efficiency of the trucking industry, USAID will provide 6 months of technical assistance to the Cooperative des Transporteurs Tchadiens (CTT). This assistance will be complemented by long-term academic training for one participant in transport planning/operations and 6 months of practical training for CTT"s Director of Operations. By helping to centralize freight transport demand, freight allocations, and transport coordination, this assistance will lead to annual increases of 10% (to 65%) in the vehicle load factor and 20,000 km (to 60,000 km) in truck travel time.