Findings - Africa Region

Mozambique: The Second Roads and Coastal Shipping Project

The project was estimated to cost a total of $814.6 million – the IDA Credit was for the equivalent of $188 million - and it was implemented by the government over the period 1994-2001. The co-financiers included the African Development Bank, the European Union, USAID, Caisse Francaise de Developpment/Republic of South Africa, Arab Bank Economic Development, the Kuwait Fund, KfW, donors for the Feeder Roads program and Phase II donors. The objectives of the project were to (i) contribute to the restoration of economic growth through improving road transport and protecting selected past road investments by rehabilitating priority roads, undertaking backlogged periodic maintenance, and resuming regular maintenance of the paved and unpaved networks; and (ii) further strengthening the capacity of the road sector to ensure effective planning and monitoring by the government, and the development of private sector contractors and operations.

Impact on the ground

The share of good and fair road networks which was 10% at appraisal stood, by close of project, at 56%. A total of 5,993 km of roads and 3,200 m of Bailey bridges were executed under emergency maintenance. The total length of feeder roads rehabilitated was 6,106.6 km as compared to the original target of 3,250 km. Over the project implementation period, a total of 88,545 km of roads received routine maintenance.

On average, travel time declined by 50%. The resumption of regular private transport services to formerly inaccessible areas has been made possible. The lower unit transport costs in real terms and the increase in the transport fleet from 13,000 to about 200,000 vehicles has resulted in increased traffic.

A notable result of the above has been the increase in the basket of goods and services available in rural areas. An interesting example is that that the price of fish fell in inland towns served by the rehabilitated roads.

The project helped remove transport bottlenecks, particularly for agricultural production and distribution. GDP, which grew at an annual rate of -0.1% between 1980-90, averaged 7.5% for the period 1990-2001. In particular, the export of goods and services, which includes transport services, increased from -6.8% to 13.4% of GDP over the same compared periods.

There was a six-fold increase in expenditure as compared to appraisal for the labor-based reconstruction of priority feeder roads and this created a significant number of jobs and generated income for participants.

Institutionally, the Road Agency ( ANE ) was established as an autonomous agency with its own Board. The Road Fund, initially under ANE, has become independent with its own Board. A direct transfer of road fund revenue was agreed to and the mechanism for the transfer of revenue from oil companies to the Road Fund was worked out.

Of the over 100 young engineers trained under the Roads and Coastal Shipping Projects I and II , 41 engineers were employed in ANE – the remaining are working in either the public or private sector.

Local contractors were trained and a local contractor’s association with over 50 construction firms has been formed. Nearly $168.08 million worth of work was carried out by local contractors. CETA Sarl, a construction enterprise, has been transformed from a state-owned enterprise to a private enterprise with major equity being acquired by company managers, technicians and workers. The partnership with the Mozambique Investment Company, a venture capital company, has provided it an opportunity for acquiring good practices in the construction industry. In addition, the 10 provincial State Enterprises for Construction and Maintenance of Roads ( ECMEP ) have been consolidated into 3 enterprises – an increasing share of their annual works is now shifting from direct to competitive bidding.

HIV/AIDS issues were addressed through the ANE’s Social Unit, which is the designated focal point for AIDS for the road sector at the central level. It is responsible for coordinating as well as overseeing the follow-up and evaluation of HIV/AIDS-related programs within the sector and co-ordinating with similar programs in other sectors. The HIV/AIDS activity was piloted in one sub-project area and then expanded to all the sub-project areas. Within the road sector, as part of the social clauses of the contract, the contractor is required to allow workers to participate in HIV/AIDS-related activities for 3 hours per month during working hours, to schedule the implementation of HIV/AIDS activities as part of the work plan, to provide suitable sites for communication activities and condom distribution and monitoring of the implementation of Peer Educator activities.

Lessons learned

The success of the project confirmed the validity of the hypothesis that flexible overall design, phased investment plans and annual project reviews can lead to effective outcomes even in the context of a weak institutional environment, so long as the project design incorporates technical assistance, training and supervision, and up-front policy reform to manage risk.

In 1997, during the fourth year of the project, GOM was faced with serious budget constraints arising from competing commitments. As a lead agency, IDA supported the Borrower’s request for increased IDA funding for periodic maintenance work – this response helped to harmonize donor response and assisted GOM in meeting its international commitments. Such flexibility with respect to conditionality constraints, particularly in a post-conflict environment, is critical to bridging resource gaps and the often conflicting demands of international development agencies during a transitional adjustment period.

Unless it is for emergency operations, it is preferable to approach the road sector and road works with a systematic approach and appropriate detailed design prior to starting works. This permits one to know the exact nature of the works needed, accurately estimate costs, and avoid overruns, unnecessary claims and undue delays during construction.

Special attention needs to be given to the development of the local contracting industry. In Mozambique, the stable flow from the road fund to road maintenance and the labor-intensive works for the Feeder Roads Program served as a base for the development of the local contracting industry.

This Infobrief has been sourced from Implementation Completion Report No. 27511. For more information, e-mail aghzala@worldbank.org.


	No. 124 May 2006
	Mozambique: The Second Roads and Coastal Shipping Project The project was estimated to cost a total of $814.6 million – the IDA Credit was for the equivalent of $188 million - and it was implemented by the government over the period 1994-2001. The co-financiers included the African Development Bank, the European Union, USAID, Caisse Francaise de Developpment/Republic of South Africa, Arab Bank Economic Development, the Kuwait Fund, KfW, donors for the Feeder Roads program and Phase II donors. The objectives of the project were to (i) contribute to the restoration of economic growth through improving road transport and protecting selected past road investments by rehabilitating priority roads, undertaking backlogged periodic maintenance, and resuming regular maintenance of the paved and unpaved networks; and (ii) further strengthening the capacity of the road sector to ensure effective planning and monitoring by the government, and the development of private sector contractors and operations. Impact on the ground The share of good and fair road networks which was 10% at appraisal stood, by close of project, at 56%. A total of 5,993 km of roads and 3,200 m of Bailey bridges were executed under emergency maintenance. The total length of feeder roads rehabilitated was 6,106.6 km as compared to the original target of 3,250 km. Over the project implementation period, a total of 88,545 km of roads received routine maintenance. On average, travel time declined by 50%. The resumption of regular private transport services to formerly inaccessible areas has been made possible. The lower unit transport costs in real terms and the increase in the transport fleet from 13,000 to about 200,000 vehicles has resulted in increased traffic. A notable result of the above has been the increase in the basket of goods and services available in rural areas. An interesting example is that that the price of fish fell in inland towns served by the rehabilitated roads. The project helped remove transport bottlenecks, particularly for agricultural production and distribution. GDP, which grew at an annual rate of -0.1% between 1980-90, averaged 7.5% for the period 1990-2001. In particular, the export of goods and services, which includes transport services, increased from -6.8% to 13.4% of GDP over the same compared periods. There was a six-fold increase in expenditure as compared to appraisal for the labor-based reconstruction of priority feeder roads and this created a significant number of jobs and generated income for participants. Institutionally, the Road Agency ( ANE ) was established as an autonomous agency with its own Board. The Road Fund, initially under ANE, has become independent with its own Board. A direct transfer of road fund revenue was agreed to and the mechanism for the transfer of revenue from oil companies to the Road Fund was worked out. Of the over 100 young engineers trained under the Roads and Coastal Shipping Projects I and II , 41 engineers were employed in ANE – the remaining are working in either the public or private sector. Local contractors were trained and a local contractor’s association with over 50 construction firms has been formed. Nearly $168.08 million worth of work was carried out by local contractors. CETA Sarl, a construction enterprise, has been transformed from a state-owned enterprise to a private enterprise with major equity being acquired by company managers, technicians and workers. The partnership with the Mozambique Investment Company, a venture capital company, has provided it an opportunity for acquiring good practices in the construction industry. In addition, the 10 provincial State Enterprises for Construction and Maintenance of Roads ( ECMEP ) have been consolidated into 3 enterprises – an increasing share of their annual works is now shifting from direct to competitive bidding. HIV/AIDS issues were addressed through the ANE’s Social Unit, which is the designated focal point for AIDS for the road sector at the central level. It is responsible for coordinating as well as overseeing the follow-up and evaluation of HIV/AIDS-related programs within the sector and co-ordinating with similar programs in other sectors. The HIV/AIDS activity was piloted in one sub-project area and then expanded to all the sub-project areas. Within the road sector, as part of the social clauses of the contract, the contractor is required to allow workers to participate in HIV/AIDS-related activities for 3 hours per month during working hours, to schedule the implementation of HIV/AIDS activities as part of the work plan, to provide suitable sites for communication activities and condom distribution and monitoring of the implementation of Peer Educator activities. Lessons learned The success of the project confirmed the validity of the hypothesis that flexible overall design, phased investment plans and annual project reviews can lead to effective outcomes even in the context of a weak institutional environment, so long as the project design incorporates technical assistance, training and supervision, and up-front policy reform to manage risk. In 1997, during the fourth year of the project, GOM was faced with serious budget constraints arising from competing commitments. As a lead agency, IDA supported the Borrower’s request for increased IDA funding for periodic maintenance work – this response helped to harmonize donor response and assisted GOM in meeting its international commitments. Such flexibility with respect to conditionality constraints, particularly in a post-conflict environment, is critical to bridging resource gaps and the often conflicting demands of international development agencies during a transitional adjustment period. Unless it is for emergency operations, it is preferable to approach the road sector and road works with a systematic approach and appropriate detailed design prior to starting works. This permits one to know the exact nature of the works needed, accurately estimate costs, and avoid overruns, unnecessary claims and undue delays during construction. Special attention needs to be given to the development of the local contracting industry. In Mozambique, the stable flow from the road fund to road maintenance and the labor-intensive works for the Feeder Roads Program served as a base for the development of the local contracting industry. This Infobrief has been sourced from Implementation Completion Report No. 27511. For more information, e-mail aghzala@worldbank.org.