Engineering Services for Rural Roads Rehabilitation (ES3R) Monthly Progress Report – November 2013

The project period of performance is from 8 October 2013 to 20 October 2015. ES3R is an implementing mechanism for the Feed the Future (FTF) initiative, which aims to address the root causes of global hunger by sustainably increasing agricultural productivity. The objectives of ES3R are to provide construction oversight for the rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads in Bong, Lofa, and Nimba counties, produce engineering designs and construction documents for the rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, and Grand Bassa counties, and train and pre-qualify local architect-engineer firms capable of providing oversight for road rehabilitation activities. The project mobilization process began with the arrival of a CDM advance-mobilization team in Monrovia, consisting of John Gavin, Senior Project Manager, and Shannon Dotson, Client Services Strategist. The team initiated contact with local authorities to inquire about business registration, office premises, office facilities, project vehicles, IT hardware and software, banking matters, and office staffing. The Chief of Party, Howard M Shelmerdine, arrived in Monrovia on 9 December 2013 to join the advance team members in mobilization activities. Jim Clarke, the road design team leader, arrived in Monrovia on 23 November 2013. A Project Quality Management (PQM) meeting and workshop was held on 14 November 2013 at the Mamba Point Hotel. The meeting was attended by CDM staff members and USAID representatives, including David Wounuah, Contracting Officer Representative, Sonja Stroud-Gooden, Contracting Officer, and Rosalind Sika, Supervising Contracting Officer. The highlights of the meeting included the development of a Project Mission Statement and the identification of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and their importance in fulfilling the mission of the project. The CSFs identified were adhering to project schedule while maintaining reasonable expectations, identifying challenges and customizing capacity building for local A&E firms, maintaining focus on project objectives and avoiding distractions and outside influences, bringing in/hiring appropriate and proactive personnel, establishing and maintaining teamwork and communication at every key level, developing consensus on design criteria, and providing quality products/services that exceed expectations. A priority matrix was formulated based on the information and inputs developed at the workshop, resulting in the identification of five Process, Activities, and Tasks (PATs) that will require the most focus. The project will provide infrastructure investment in the rehabilitation of rural farm-to-market roads to support the USAID/Liberia FTF program Food and Enterprise Development (FED), capacity development for routine maintenance systems within the Government of Liberia (GOL), capacity development of Ministry of Public Works (MPW) rural roads engineers and local A&E firms, and development of alternative low-volume road pavement pilot projects, standards, and design specifications. The project will also facilitate the transport of agricultural produce in the regions where roads are built, improve local capabilities and experience in the construction and design of rural roads, and improve the lives of the local population with improved access to social services, medical, education, commerce, etc.