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