Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Roads for Rural Development Project

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Lessons

Speedy civil works contracting and mobilization help minimize project completion delays.

There was a 1-year interval between this project’s approval and effectiveness, and limited preparatory tasks were completed during the intervening period. Notwithstanding this, the project closing date had to be extended by only 6 months. The 0.5-year saved from the total project implementation period was attributable to the speedier completion of civil works, as well facilitated by speedy contracting and mobilization. Advance completion of road designs, prequalification, and bid documents made it possible for all civil works contracts to be quickly finalized and commenced, allowing the recovery of some of the time lost due to the 1-year delay in loan effectiveness.

Project Cycle Stage:

Implementation

Benefit monitoring and evaluation (BME) should be included in executing and implementing agency capacity building.

Overall, the project was able to demonstrate the viability of rural roads improvement/upgrading in enhancing the access to developmental benefits of poorer and remote communities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. However, there was difficulty in accurately assessing the full economic and poverty reduction benefits that came about because of the delay in conducting baseline benefit monitoring. This highlights the need for future projects to immediately begin and ensure the completion of baseline data work prior to civil works commencement. The lack of focus on BME may be rectified by including it in the capacity building program of future executing and implementing agencies.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Implementation

Completion and Evaluation

Early replacement of nonperforming contractors contributes to timely project completion.

Implementation delays in some of this project’s civil works contracts were resolved by replacing poorly performing contractors with better performing ones. The experience highlights the importance of taking early remedial measures as well as the need for executing agencies to more carefully examine the financial, management, and equipment capacities of bidders during bid evaluation.

Project Cycle Stage:

Implementation

Select rural development schemes may be supported to directly facilitate agricultural development activities along rural roads being developed.

This project has provided further evidence of the positive impacts of rural road improvement projects on agricultural development. Specifically, the road extension to Sanxai, realized through this project, has created new opportunities and accelerated the development of the coffee estate financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development in the area. To more directly facilitate agricultural development along rural roads being developed in future projects, consideration could be given to supporting select rural development schemes that can directly assist communities located along the rural roads.

Project Cycle Stage:

Preparation

Background

Landlocked Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is poor, mountainous, and sparsely populated. Most of its poor live in rural areas with limited access and connection to the outside world. Improving road access removes the physical and cost impediments to the provision of social services and enhances the ability of the poor to benefit from overall economic growth. Within this context, the Asian Development Bank approved a loan of $17.7 million equivalent for the Roads for Rural Development Project in June 2004.

Under the project (i) 287.3 kilometers (km) of select roads to remote rural regions were rehabilitated, (ii) supplementary road maintenance funding for an ADB-approved road was provided, and (iii) a program for improved road safety was executed. The areas served by the project roads were within the 47 priority poorest districts in Lao PDR, with the least access to health care, education, and other services. The project relieved the isolation of these areas by reducing travel costs and time and eliminating traffic disruptions during the wet season.

Economic development, social integration, and poverty reduction were consequently induced, with farmers enjoying improved access to raw material inputs as well as greater opportunities for selling their produce at better prices and engaging in other home-based production activities. Improved road transportation also enhanced the rural poor’s access to community, health, and education services. Significant new agricultural, commercial, and residential development occurring along all project roads and the increased size of the village commercial centers were further noted by the project completion review mission.

The project had the Ministry of Public Works and Transport as the executing agency and the Department of Roads as the implementing agency. The departments of public works and transport in the project provinces performed counterpart functions to the central executing and implementing agencies.

Project Information

Project Name:

Roads for Rural Development Project

Report Date:

March, 2014

Main Sector:

Transport

Country:

Lao, People's Democratic Republic

Project Number:

30271

Report Type: