RURAL RDS. REHAB & M

closed

The overall purpose of the Rural Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Project is to provide a well-integrated and reliable rural road system through rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads and key links connecting to the primary road system. This will help alleviate rural poverty and raise living standards of rural communities through increased access to basic social and economic and income-generating activities. The specific objectives are to: 1) reduce transport costs and raise the reliability of vehicular access to expand markets for agricultural and non-farm products; 2) integrate poorly accessible zones with regional economic centers; 3) improve transport conditions in rural villages; 4) generate employment through the rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads to mitigate rural poverty; and 5) build up institutional capacity at local government levels and develop small and medium enterprises to manage and carry out, on a sustainable basis, the maintenance and upgroading of rural roads. The project consists of the following six components: 1) rehabilitation of rural roads; 2) rehabilitation of connecting primary and secondary roads; 3) routine maintenance of rural roads; 4) improvement of village streets; 5) improvement of non-motorized rural transport; and 6) institutional development which includes: a) technical assistance to improve planning and management of rural roads; b) studies on local road management practices and rural road financing; c) technical assistance to develop micro-enterprises formed by groups of beneficiaries for road maintenance; and d) technical assistance and training services to strengthen the local road construction industry.