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| April 09, 2007 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428 |
Five-year road maintenance plan on cards
RAWALPINDI, April 8: The federal government is expected to launch a five-year road maintenance plan this year which will be implemented by utilising resources from the Road Maintenance Fund (RMF) being created in the National Highway Authority (NHA).
Sources told Dawn that the government had initiated the process of setting up the second generation Road Maintenance Fund, which would take over the road maintenance account in the NHA.
Formulation of the national policy on Road Maintenance Fund, as part of the National Highway Development Sector Investment Programme (NHDSIP), would subsequently help provincial governments in adopting a similar approach to maintain provincial and district roads.
The devolution process and its implications for institutional capacity development will be taken into consideration in future road projects at the provincial and district level.
At the federal level, efforts are underway under the NHDSIP to develop a strategy to federalise provincial highways and establish an optimal highway network based on the outputs of the recently completed national transport master plan.
Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has so far provided funds worth $2.098 billion for the road sector, will complete a pilot study on road safety measures in the NWFP later this year, and as required under the NHDSIP, a road safety cell will be set up in the National Highway Authority (NHA).
A time-bound road safety action plan will also be developed for implementation, sources said.
The ADB has emphasised the need for effectively mobilising private sector resources which is essential for future development and maintenance of road network. It is also assessing all opportunities to optimise revenues and ensure cost recovery.
The ADB and World Bank were discussing the road sector development issue with the federal government as part of policy dialogue.
A National Trade Corridor Highway Investment Programme (NTCHIP) is also being finalised and would be submitted to the government for approval. Management concession, revenue sharing schemes, government incentives and guarantees, and road tolling system would form part of the investment programme.
Under the ongoing infrastructure development project, public-private-partnership (PPP) transactions in road projects will be explored. The ADB is scheduled to approve a pilot PPP road project next year under its country strategy and programme.
The NHA estimates that nearly two-thirds of the road network is in poor condition. The highway department faces premature collapse due to inadequate maintenance. Reliance on budgetary transfer mechanism for adequately funding road maintenance has failed, particularly in the periods of fiscal stringency.
This increase in vehicle overloading and the shift from rail to road has led to a rapid and premature deterioration of roads.
In view of the increasing magnitude of road transport in Pakistan and lack of adequate maintenance, rehabilitation and renovation, the road system often faces a premature collapse.
Overloading by commercial trucks in Pakistan is a serious problem. The heavily overloaded trucks stress the road structure beyond its capacity. As a result of which roads break up. Billions of rupees are required every year to repair the roads.
The local truck body makers are producing wider and elevated truck bodies, which enable the truck owners to overload and reduce haulage cost. Unfortunately there is no axle load control for overloaded trucks plying on our roads. Restrictions have damaged the country’s roads and the situation demands immediate imposition of axle load restrictions.—Amin Ahmed
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