The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has accorded high priority for road sector development programmes. As a result, considerable investments have been made to improve the country’s road networks as a basis for enhancing overall socio-economic development.
In order to ensure the sustainability of this fast expanding network, a parallel need has been recognised to ensure proper maintenance – both routine and periodic – aimed at securing service quality for road users; optimising system costs on an efficient and economic basis, and also generally preserving key national infrastructure assets.
An Ethiopian Road Fund (ERF) was established in 1997 with the precise aim of financing ‘the maintenance of roads and road safety measures’. Pursuant to this remit, ERF mandated this InARoaD laureate project to conduct a comprehensive strategic assessment targeted at arranging viable maintenance funds and procedures for the sustainable operation of the growing Ethiopian road network..
The approach adopted focused firmly on road asset preservation, and the resulting study conclusively demonstrated that neglect of this dimension could ultimately result in rehabilitation costs up to five times greater than what timely investment in effective maintenance would have entailed .
The study is further distinguished by having undertaken a number of pioneering tasks in the Ethiopian context, including notably the design of maintenance eligibility criteria reflecting road safety concerns; an innovative road deterioration model; new sources of funding to supplement road user charges, and public-private partnership mechanisms aimed at promoting efficient maintenance.
The project is also noteworthy for having developed an Ethiopian Road User Charge System (E-RUCS) software capable of estimating maintenance needs, costs and user charges as well as identifying funding gaps.
In these respects and more, the study’s approach, methodology and outcomes provide an excellent best practice/ knowledge reference point that could be both relevant and invaluable for other developing countries, particularly in Africa.>