New highway road project creates big hope
Batuk
Vora
A
different kind of Gujarat state highway network building project undertaken
by Gujarat during its 9th Plan (1997-2001) has created much
hope because of its sponsorship – not only financial but technical
too, from the World Bank, according to the World Bank (WB) and also the
official sources in the finance and public works departments of the state
government.
This project is being financed
by the WB to the tune of approximately Rs 222,60 million (US$530 million).
The total project cost includes contingencies and taxes, 70% of which
will be borne by the WB’s international financial corporation (IFC)
and the rest to be funded by the state government.
According to the World Bank
project report, this would include (a) road widening and/or strengthening
(US$417 million); (b) road maintenance (US$68 million); consultancy services
for feasibility, design, engineering and supervision services (US$36 million);
(d) institutional strengthening measures (US$7 million); and (e) equipment
(US$2 million).
Gujarat, with a population
of approximately 46
million (1997 estimate) and
an area of 196,024 square km, is the seventh largest and tenth most populous
State in India. The road network of the State consists of a total of 70,609
km of roads of which 1,570 km are classified as National Highways (NH),
19,655 km as State Highways (SH), 20,364 km as Major District Roads (MDR),
10,355 km as Other District Roads (ODR) and 18,655 km as Rural Roads (RR).
The World Bank in its report
has recognised that Gujarat’s road network is one the most developed
in India in terms of capacity and relative to the State’s area. Even
though over 90 percent of the State’s ‘core’ highway network
is two-laned, the rapid increase in traffic over the last two decades
has made it increasingly deficient in terms of carrying capacity. Most
visible testimony of this fact is seen in daily occurrences of fatal road
accidents.
The proposed project will
widen and strengthen approximately 820 km of state roads; carry on periodic
maintenance works on about 855 km of state roads. Road and Building Department
(R&BD) of the government of Gujarat, which will be responsible for
implementation, has already formed a Project Implementation Unit (PIU)
to manage the preparation and implementation of the project with the assistance
of an internationally experienced Project Coordinating Consultant (PCC),
said a top official of R&BD.
World Bank project report
mentions that "Project implementation record of the R&BD has
been mixed, with poor performance, most often attributable to inadequate
pre-qualification standards for contractors and shortage of international
standard road contractors. Also, major delays occurred in land acquisition
and clearance of obstruction (trees, utilities & structures) from
road right-of way procedures."
WB hoped that the implementation
of a comprehensive institutional strengthening action plan during the
project together with technical assistance and training should make the
R&BD a more effective and efficient manager of the State’s road
network.
An Environmental Study Report
(ESR) was completed in February 1998, according to the WB report. It provided
an analysis of the environmental impact of the project. "The environmental
impact will be limited, both during the construction phase and once the
roads have been completed, since no new roads will be constructed under
the project."
Further according to the
WB report, both at the national and state levels, the demand for intercity
freight transport is projected to double every 12 years while the demand
for passenger transport is expected to double every 10 years or so.
The share of total transport
demand going to roads in India is now about 60% and 85% respectively for
freight and passenger traffic, with the balance being carried mainly by
rail.
Since 1950, the core system
of paved national roads and state roads (State Highways and Major District
Roads) has grown from approximately 19,800 km to about 156,000 km, and
made up only 2% and 20% respectively of all roads in the 1990 national
road inventory. However, in traffic terms, the National network carries
about 35% of all road traffic while the State network carries about 55%,
with the balance being carried by the rural (village) road network.
The rapid growth of the network,
although achieving the political and social objectives of national connectivity
and rural access, was only made possible by constructing a great deal
of low quality single-lane (3.75 meter wide) and intermediate-lane (5.5
meters) roads. As a result of this, India’s arterial road system
is now highly congested and of poor riding quality, causing high vehicle
operating costs and low quality services for users.
"At least equally serious
was the absorptive capacity and implementation constraints of the sector
agencies such as the state Public Works Departments (PWD). Sector reforms
are needed to foster the introduction of high-quality road infrastructure
built on schedule, and to foster sound systematic road network maintenance
policies to maximize road asset life," says the report.
Some of India’s states
including Gujarat have now, with national government support, endorsed
such reforms in their context for implementation in conjunction with major
road improvement proposals
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