ISSUES, LESSONS, AND FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS

VI. ISSUES, LESSONS, AND FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS

A. Key Issues for the Future

90. Road Maintenance. The RMF has been set up and appears to be receiving adequate policy support from the Government. Although the Fund is currently facing a deficit, this shortfall is expected to be reduced progressively. There could be short-term issues relating to the prioritization of road projects in the country. In the longer term, it is expected that these issues will be resolved by a current World Bank program (RMP2).

91. Forest Encroachment. The issue of encroachment by villagers on forest areas is often associated with road improvements (para. 78). The nature of the problem needs to be better understood by MCTPC before a comprehensive solution can be found. While community participation programs are helpful in reducing the impact of this problem, they cannot solve it completely. Ongoing road improvements in other parts of the Lao PDR are likely to face this issue. MCTPC and international aid agencies need to address this issue in a more comprehensive manner.

92. Road Safety. Road improvements result in higher running speeds for vehicles. This, together with increasing populations living along the road, means that traffic accidents and fatalities will increase unless road safety issues are addressed. Potential road safety issues that are likely to arise in the future include (i) lack of enforcement of posted speed limits and lack of appreciation by drivers of the rationale for speed limits; (ii) increasing pedestrian traffic, both crossing and along the roadway; (iii) lack of adequate shoulder width for vehicular stops and parking; and (iv) continued breakdown of the edges of shoulders. A number of earlier project

20 performance audit reports 30 highlighted road safety as an integral part of all road designs. This

PPER identifies a similar lesson for future road projects.

93. HIV/AIDS and STIs. The incidence of HIV/AIDS and STI often increases with a rise in traffic levels and in areas near construction camps. The Government and international aid agencies should recognize and address this issue in project designs. This will involve a combination of information, education, and communication programs to raise awareness and encourage prevention, as well as detection and treatment.

B. Lessons Identified

94. To achieve better subregional cooperation, an integrated approach is needed. In the case of the Project, the full benefits of the improved road within Lao PDR will not materialize unless there is a proper linking road within Cambodia. A road project could have been initiated in Cambodia within the GMS framework to link the project road with an improved road in Cambodia. The GMS Program is an ideal platform for such integrated planning of infrastructure in the region. However, such an integrated approach should consider each country’s transport plan. The OEM was informed that a new project under the GMS Program has been initiated in Cambodia to link the project road with Stung Treng in Cambodia. This project is being financed by the PRC Government.

95. Geographic targeting is one way to develop synergies in ADB’s operations. In this case, savings could have been generated if a related project (viz., irrigation) had been initiated in parallel with the Project, at the formulation stage, on Khong Island. This approach could have avoided the need for the irrigation project to dig up the roads after project completion. Geographic targeting and developing synergies need to be considered during the formulation of the country strategy and program and country strategy and program updates.

96. The contractor did not perform to the required level for Contract C. The materials used by the contractor for preparing the subbase were substandard, resulting in pavement failure that had to be rectified, causing delays in project completion and additional costs. While the contractor can be held accountable for such problems, the supervision consultant should be involved in a proactive manner to help detect such problems and plan remedial measures. Material testing should be conducted jointly in the presence of both the contractor and the consultant.

97. The OEM attempted to trace the $2.2 million amount allocated for periodic maintenance on other roads. MCTPC assured the OEM that the allocated funds had been appropriately used in different parts of the country. However, there was insufficient information made available on the location and the nature of these interventions. Such information should be monitored during project administration and collated at the project completion stage to ensure that the funds have been used for the intended purpose.

98. Requiring that BME be undertaken 2 years after project completion was a standard clause in loan agreements when the Project was processed. The lesson learned from this Project is that there is a high risk that such covenants will not be complied with. Greater recognition needs to be given to the fact that EAs do not wish to allocate their scarce funding for such studies, as their day-to-day operations do not require such data. While ADB placed priority on monitoring project impacts on poverty for every project, the EAs did not feel that this was the

For example, ADB. 2004. Project Performance Audit Report on the Road Overlay and Improvement Project in Bangladesh. Manila.

most appropriate way to spend their limited budget. Impact evaluations at the sector and country level would yield an adequate understanding of the socioeconomic benefits of road projects. At the institutional level, ADB appears to have learned this lesson and now recognizes that, due to considerable costs and problems in establishing clear linkages between project inputs and impacts, monitoring of poverty effects at the project level will be done only on a sample basis.

99. The OEM observed a number of encroachments by villagers on to the right-of-way along the project road. MCTPC and DCTPC need to initiate action to remove such structures and prevent further encroachments in the future. DCTPC should enforce the existing road and land use laws to prevent such encroachments and enable better road safety. This is applicable not only on the project road, but also on others roads in the Lao PDR.

C. Recommendations

100. In light of the findings of this PPER, the following recommendations have been identified for consideration by the Government and ADB:

Recommendation Responsibility

For ADB (and Government) Consideration

1. ADB could work within the GMS Program to encourage

Mekong Regional

successful completion of the border negotiations between the Lao Department PDR and Cambodia. This will enable MCTPC to complete the

(MKRD) to initiate

construction of the 6.9-km link from the end of the project road

dialogue with the

(near Veun Kham intersection) to the Cambodian border post to

Government

enable uninterrupted access from Champasack Province to towns in Cambodia. Subject to the resolution of these negotiations, activities leading up to the development of this link could be initiated to enable the completion of the road in time for the 2007 implementation of the GMS Agreement. ADB should explore possible ways of including this link road in ongoing or future projects in the country.

2. MCTPC should develop a modern road maintenance planning

MKRD to initiate

system. Such capacity building should be undertaken at the junior dialogue with management level to ensure that a trained workforce is created

MCTPC and the

for updating and running models such as the HDM model. Such

World Bank

needs could be addressed within the RMP2 program of the World Bank. Since the RMP2 is well under way, MCTPC could fit this activity into the broader schedule of the RMP2. Before the end of 2006, ADB should discuss this approach with MCTPC and the World Bank to enable such an inclusion.