TRANSP.RHB

closed

The Transport Sector Rehabilitation Project's main objectives are to: (i) rehabilitate essential transport infrastructure; (ii) assist Government in implementing institutional reform in road and railway subsectors; and (iii) lay the ground work for future projects focussing on strengthened road management, increased private participation in the transport sector, and improved mobility of the poor. The project will consist of five components, the most important concerning road rehabilitation. Six roads totalling 725 km will be rehabilitated under the project. In addition, this component will include: (i) a bridge program involving the acquisition and recovery of Bailey bridges and the reconstruction of derelict old bridges; (ii) a pilot maintenance program focussing on 620 km of road in a specified corridor; and (iii) a traffic safety program. In parallel, the project will support government efforts to rebuild an institutional structure capable of maintaining the road system. The second component will help to privatize and rehabilitate the railway, by: (i) reducing staff redundancy; (ii) rationalizing railway debt; (iii) closing down or receiving budgetary transfers from the Government for unprofitable services; and (iv) rehabilitating track, telecommunications and locomotives to keep the railway in operating condition while the privatization process is underway. The third component concerns the rehabilitation of Lima's airport runway which is in urgent need of repair, before it becomes in danger to aviation. The fourth component will be a pilot project for non-motorized transport in Lima to test methods of promoting the use of bicycles by low-income residents. The fifth component, technical assistance and training, will; (i) strengthen the institutional capacity for managing roads and bridges, and support the creation and fostering of an autonomous agency responsible for planning, operating, financing, and administering the highway network; (ii) build capacity to manage environmental issues; and (iii) assist the railway in its privatization and improving its management.