A Review of Highway Agencies in the South Asia Region

A Review of Highway Agencies in the South Asia Region
REFORMS
Long-term
development plan
Performance
targets
REFORM
Active use of
Public Private
Partnerships
REFORM
National sector
output monitoring
Bangladesh
Bangladesh has a National Land Transport Policy (NLTP, 2004) and Road Master Plan in place.
The NLTP provides guidance for the development of the transport infrastructure network
and services in the country. Some targets are quantitative and time-bound, whereas others
remain qualitative. For the road sector in particular, several goals that are included are:
Maintenance is considered a priority;
Traffic is the key issue for road design decisions;
Development of a long-term master plan for the infrastructure network;
Introduction of performance targets for the road network in terms of journey times and
reliability to be achieved by the highway agencies;
Management of the road network in such a way that its monetary value is maintained;
Involvement of NGOs in traffic management and improving safety;
Promotion of the involvement of the private sector in financing infrastructure;
Support (the involvement of) the road construction industry; and
Alignment of the organization and skills of the Roads and Highways Department with its goals.
In a World Bank report 8 , a weak institutional framework is pinpointed as the main constraint
for the actual implementation of the policy. The NLTP has not been translated into a similar
document for the road sector. This vision document of 1999 still prevails as the primary
reference point. This vision was developed as part of a development project under the
guidance of the Department for International Development (DFID, UK Government). The
vision has a strong focus on qualitative goals, without specific targets. From the NLTP, it can
be concluded that realizing the vision has been a challenge and has not yet been
fully achieved.
India
India does not have a national transport/highway sector policy but the overall policy on the
highway sector has been governed by the broad framework set in the consecutive Five Year
Plans. A balanced approach towards enhanced mobility (national highway development)
and accessibility (development of an all-weather rural network) has underpinned road sector
planning. At the national level, the Government of India has launched large investment
programs for national highways (National Highways Development Project - NHDP) and
rural roads (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna - PMGSY). However, the missing link, the
state highways and major district roads under the sole jurisdiction of states/provinces, has
languished due to a lack of strategic focus and investments. Very few states have developed
a vision for the road sector with business plans grounded in such a vision. As is elaborated in
section 2.6, Gujarat is one of the few states that developed a Vision 2010 which includes an
infrastructure master plan. However, a few Indian states have formal and publicly available
priorities for road infrastructure development; maintenance is generally not considered a
priority. The Government of India is actively promoting and using PPP as a means of realizing
(road) infrastructure. The country is globally recognized as a leader in PPP. Several states
have also set up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to facilitate the implementation of PPP
projects.
At the national level, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in India monitors
output performance of the ministry and other central institutions annually through the
Results Framework Document. Linked to 11 objectives, there are a number of actions with
associated success indicators. It also clearly lists the involvement of related ministries,
such as Environment and Forests, Railways and the state governments. A sample of
these objectives and indicators is shown in Table 2.2. Targets are not usually published;
achievements are.
8 Bangladesh, Transport Policy Note, World Bank South Asia Region (April 2000).
25