Road resources management (RRM)

The evaluation, the only one to be carried out during the project, covered the period 6/87-5/93 The project focuses on the paved road network under the jurisdiction of 15 politically elected councils in the rural districts of Sindh. Under the approach taken by the project, the districts are required to used their own resources for road maintenance in return for the project"s investments in improving the Province"s deteriorated road network. Despite changing local sociopolitical conditions and severe funding cuts necessitated by the Pressler Amendment, the project has met several of its targets, but others have had to be reduced substantially or eliminated entirely: the training program for district engineering, the experimental road construction program, and the program to upgrade katcha roads. These reductions have limited the number of areas in which the project could become sustainable. The evaluators endorsed project efforts to reinforce road rehabilitation standards and maintenance principles and encouraged the use of local contractors to help ensure sustainability. To enhance the productivity of the road maintenance crews, the team advocated the provision of selected equipment to the districts, with funding either from A.I.D., outside donors, or the Pakistani or Sindh governments. Observing that the districts have begun to allocate funds for road maintenance on a continuous basis and that a few districts have not budgeted adequate funds, the team suggests encouraging districts to allocate more funding for road maintenance. Finally, to improve the project"s chances for sustainability within existing funding and time constraints, the team recommended that the project provide District Councils with training in technical, management, and financial areas. The Mission notes that the project has been terminated early (7/31/94) due to recision. See also abstract of PD-ABH-250, an executive summary of the evaluation. (Author abstract, modified)