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Project detail:
The TA will assist the Public Works (Roads) Department (PWRD), the Government of Assam (GOA) in (i) preparing Assam state road hazard map; (ii) adopting a climate and disaster resilience module to a road asset management system (RAMS); and (iii) institutionalizing annual updates of the road asset data set and optimization of the road sector budget allocation for road construction and maintenance.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy Roads are the predominant mode of transport in Assam. State highways and major district roads provide vital connectivity to all towns and district headquarters, linking them with national highways. However, the capacity and quality of roads are inadequate in terms of width and surface. Given the state's rural population, and hilly and flood-prone topography, substantial development is needed in financial and managerial capacity to improve the roads and enable better access for its citizens. The GOA has significantly increased its budget allocation for the road sector in the past 3 years from $140.2 million in fiscal year (FY) 2017 to $510.1 million in FY2020. The road maintenance budget was on a rise until it reached $120.6 million in FY2016. However, there has been a shift in the budget allocation from road maintenance to capital investment in recent years. Road maintenance budget declined from FY2017 and fell to $40.6 million in FY2019 and further to $24.0 million in FY2020. Meanwhile, GOA has been rapidly increasing capital investments in road improvement and reconstruction since FY2018 to rehabilitate distressed road assets. Under a World Bank-funded project, PWRD has developed RAMS to be used for decision making and planning. Nevertheless, outputs of RAMS have not been properly reflected in budget allocation. The project will introduce new climate and disaster resilient structures to the project roads, evaluate their performance, and standardize technical specifications on the structures, and also assist PWRD in adapting road asset management practices for climate and disaster resilience to the decision process in the RAMS.
Note: please download project document attached to this project for more information.
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