The Hindu Business Line : World Bank satisfied with AP road project

TRAVEL on highways in the State has improved. The quality of roads has improved, traffic along highways is up, vehicle operating costs are down and overall safety has been enhanced.

These are some of the impressions of an assessment done by the World Bank on the AP State Highways Project (1997-2004). The $424.71-million project upgraded 3,150 km of primary roads and improved another 4,180 km, of the total 10,266 km primary road network.

While expressing overall satisfaction at the implementation of the project, the World Bank assessment pointed out that fundamental reforms such as reorganisation of the Roads and Buildings Department (RBD) and operationalisation of the Road Fund, anticipated under the project, have not been fully implemented.

The World Bank extended $332.99-million aid, while the rest was contributed by the State Government. Under the project, 15 rail overhead bridges and a bridge over the Krishna river were also constructed.

The improved road network has also had an indirect impact on agricultural productivity in the form of increased access to markets and business centres for farmers, the assessment said.

In tangible benefits, the project has cut the overall travel time on these roads by 30-50 per cent, while travel speeds have doubled from 30-35 km/hr to 60-70 km/hr. The vehicle operating costs have dropped by around 20 per cent, the report said.

The major focus of the project was also at bringing about institutional reforms in the RBD. Here, the project established a Pavement Management System, introduced e-procurement for all civil works, private sector participation through build-operate-transfer and so on.

A draft road sector policy has also been prepared. The RBD staff has improved their skills and business procedures through overseas and local training, study tours and so on. The State Government is also preparing a Road Act to introduce performance-based maintenance, improved corridor management practises and so on.

The State Government has also been persuaded to increase the overall maintenance funding by about 76 per cent from pre-project levels, the report claimed.