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EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf

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Lack of government funding and a shortage of human resources, skills and capabilities are<br />

commonly cited reasons for poor road operation and maintenance. Road sector technical<br />

assistance projects have helped to increase technical knowledge and skills, but this has been<br />

hampered by high staff turnover and low capacity. Low staff salaries, inappropriate staff<br />

deployment and a lack of incentives are contributing factors 58 .<br />

Fiji and Samoa have implemented several initiatives to achieve improvements in road<br />

operation and maintenance.<br />

In Fiji:<br />

Transport policy emphasis has shifted from road network extension to upgrading,<br />

maintenance, and rehabilitation; improvement of operational and management<br />

efficiency; and the upgrading of the existing system’s safety 59 over the past ten<br />

years, although road expansion in rural areas does remain an important focus. <strong>The</strong><br />

country also has a standing recommendation that road operation and maintenance<br />

cycles should be incorporated in all project design work. Planning and<br />

management for road maintenance often begins only once the road is has been<br />

built and this initiative helps to identify the institutional and technical<br />

requirements for road maintenance from the outset and enables appropriate<br />

planning<br />

<strong>The</strong> Fijian Public Works Department has introduced private sector involvement<br />

to the road sector by contracting out maintenance work. It began contracting out<br />

10 percent of its maintenance work from 1999 and plans to contract out all<br />

maintenance work by 2008. Maintenance of both remote and urban roads has<br />

been put to tender and have achieved a satisfactory level of interest from private<br />

contractors. Overall, road maintenance has improved in the past 5 years,<br />

following the introduction of outsourcing 60<br />

Strategies to recover cost through road-user charges have been implemented.<br />

Network maintenance and administration is covered through the implementation<br />

of a road fund through fuel, weight and vehicle tariffs<br />

Increased focus on road users prompted a merger of the three existing transport<br />

regulatory bodies into one transport authority – <strong>The</strong> Land Transport Authority.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Land Transport Authority is responsible for coordinating public and private<br />

road transport, implementing road transport licensing and improving road safety.<br />

This September, a new Act will come into effect turning the current Roads<br />

Department into a new Department of National Roads, separate from the<br />

Ministry of Works. Under this new structure, the Department will have a new<br />

commercial focus and will be responsible for managing its own budget and<br />

accounting, funded via a dedicated road fund and fuel taxes 61 .<br />

58 Special Evaluation Study on the Operation and Maintenance of Road Facilities and their impact on Project<br />

Sustainability, ADB, December 1998<br />

59 Republic of the Fiji Islands 1999 Economic Report, ADB <strong>Pacific</strong> Studies Series, 1999.<br />

60 Interview with Ministry of Works, Fiji<br />

61 Castalia interview with the Ministry of Works in Fiji<br />

119

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