July 19, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 03, 1428

RAWALPINDI, July 18: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is almost certain to put some conditions on its future assistance to Pakistan in the road sector. One of the major conditions, the ADB my put, is to address the defects the Bank has identified in the planning, design and implementation of projects undertaken in the past.

Recommendations of an evaluation study of Pakistan’s road sector undertaken by the ADB says since devolution of large road responsibilities to the districts was being implemented, the requirements of the districts in all aspects of road responsibility including planning, design, implementation, and maintenance must be considered in terms of funding and institutional capability.

Also, while policy direction comes from the federal government, there currently is no means of coordinating their implementation at the provincial or district level. This aspect should be considered in the preparation of future assistance to the road sector.

ADB considers road safety a complex issue, therefore, it would see a programme in place in Pakistan to address road safety that include introducing safety audits of ongoing project designs beginning in 2007, providing assistance for the implementation of the National Highway Safety Ordinance 2000; upgrading the highway police at all levels; enhancing public awareness through media and introducing road safety problems, procedures and rules through the educational system; improving signage; and identifying and removing black-spots where accidents frequently occur.

The recommendations of the study state private sector participation in funding road works was needed to support the government’s initiatives to increase funding. These were not new issues; indeed, all were covered in part under the ongoing programme. ADB’s support should be long term in nature with the achievements being periodically reviewed while encouraging the programme to evolve, it says.

The recommendations say the sector roadmap in the country strategy programme should include a clear set of steps to be taken by the government, ADB and other funding agencies to improve road maintenance. The study called for understanding the fiscal implications for road maintenance associated with the government’s increasing devolution of authority of district government; and expanding the computer-based road asset- management system.

The recommendations also include reviewing weighbridge proposals for provincial roads projects and developing measures to make them more effective.

The study also called for making the police force more credible in enforcement and reducing the ability of truckers to circumvent the weighing points; developing a comprehensive programme to address truck overloading that should be built around measures to enhance self-regulation by truckers, information campaigns, detection and enforcement of effective fines; and including a road maintenance and rehabilitation projects in the future programme.

The transport sector contributes over 10 per cent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product. Over the past two decades, as in other parts of Asia, the growth of vehicle numbers has been dramatic. The number of registered road vehicles in 2004 was 2.94 million with a further 3.01 million motorcycles and rickshaws. The combined fleet is growing at 9 per cent annually, nearly double gross domestic product growth of about 5 per cent. Since 1991, road transport in Pakistan has grown annually by 10.6 per cent for freight and 4.4 per cent for passengers. Road transport is the dominant transport mode, moving about 95 per cent of inland freight and 90 per cent of passengers.

Since 1985, ADB has lent a total of $2.1 billion to the road sector, more than half of all external assistance provided to the sector. In addition, since 1984, a total of $6.3 million grant has been provided by ADB for 24 technical assistance projects.

ADB’s entry point into the sector was to support the expansion of the rural road network as a means of fostering agricultural development. For this purpose, three projects in the road sector were approved in 1985, 1990 and 1992.

The main impediments to improved maintenance appear to be: lack of funds; inadequate control of excess axle loads; inappropriate road agency orientation toward construction works; weak governance; and insufficient adherence to a long-term plan of action.