ROADS III

closed

A principal objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the Road Construction and Maintenance Department (RCMD)to execute its responsibilities for maintaining and upgrading the highway network in Afghanistan, including primary, secondary and tertiary roads. The principal components of the project would be: (i) a three-year time slice of a payment strengthening program; (ii) a three-year time slice of a road maintenance and improvement program; and (iii) technical assistance for RCMD. The recurrent costs of the maintenance and improvement program, amounting to $17.3 million, would be met in full by the Government. The project works would be carried out by RCMD, which needs an expanding capacity for executing work of the type envisaged. There are no domestic highway contractors, and, given the history of International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for road contracts in Afghanistan, prospects for effective ICB for the proposed work are considered poor.