Project assistance completion report [: productive infrastructure rehabilitation]

Vincent and St. Lucia, particularly in the agricultural sector, and to provide dependable access by road from productive areas to major population centers and ports. In many ways, the project achieved more than was anticipated. In addition to (a) the increased movement of agricultural and industrial goods resulting in a 25% increase in overall productivity in the two countries and (b) decreased operating costs on project roads resulting in a savings of $0.08 per mile, an added project benefit is the experience gained by the Ministries of Communications and Works (MCW) to undertake rehabilitation work. The MCW of St. Vincent is continuing to do similar work under the St. Vincent Infrastructure Project (5380138.07). Only one aspect of the project has not been satisfactorily completed. Under the project grant agreement between the Government of St. Lucia (GOSL) and USAID and the Government of St. Vincent (GOSV) and USAID, it was agreed that all equipment purchased by USAID under the project would be turned over to the respective Government Funding Schemes (GFS) at the conclusion of the project. The GOSL and the GOSV have not yet completed this action, and RDO/C will monitor this activity to insure satisfactory completion. This will be done together with the monitoring exercise on the on-going St. Vincent Infrastructure Project, which is basically a successor to this project. Several lessons learned include: appraisal of a road project of any kind on these small islands should be based on an analysis of the entire system, rather than isolated segments; the force account method of construction should continue to be preferred, even at the risk of delays and cost overruns, to help create a local institutional base; consideration should be given to insistence on the use of crushed stone or gravel surfaces on some feeder roads with low traffic loads (and excepting steep grades) in place of hard surface, as a cost-saving measure; and more attention should be paid to the issue of road maintenance. These recommendations were incorporated into the design of the follow-on St. Vincent Infrastructure Project.