A Review of Highway Agencies in the South Asia Region

A Review of Highway Agencies in the South Asia Region
4 Capacity and Performance Indicator Framework
Moving forward from the findings about the present situation of highway agencies in
South Asia, the current and future challenges they face as well as the lessons from
the international case studies, this chapter presents the framework for capacity and
performance indicators considered appropriate for the agencies in the South Asia region.
The following issues are presented and discussed in this chapter: the ideal structure and
functions of a highway agency, rationale behind measuring capacity and performance, and
actual indicators. Working from this ideal agency, which should be adapted to the local
circumstances, will enable the road sector to generate best practices and strive to achieve
this level. In effect, the framework presented in this report is a tool to reform the agencies.
4.1 The ‘Ideal’ Highway Agency: Functions and Structure
4.1.1 Functions
Agencies can be used to bring about a more independent and professional approach to road
asset management. Agencies operate within the framework of government rules but their
position insulates the implementation of their responsibilities from fluctuating government
budgets. This section outlines the functions and structure of such an agency.
Performance agreements between the agency and the parent ministry ensure the alignment
of the objectives of the agency with those of the government. The agreement should
be based on a multi-year business plan and spell out the highway agency’s obligations,
strategies for achieving them, performance targets, and procedures for monitoring and
evaluation. Such arrangements assign managerial responsibility in a transparent manner.
The ideal highway agency has a clearly-defined set of functions, related only to the
development, operation, maintenance and extension of the highway network. It is generally
acknowledged that the private sector is better equipped to handle certain functions,
and these functions could be outsourced by the highway agency to private players. The
responsibility for these functions, however, still lies with the agency. The responsibilities of
the agency should be laid down in a legal mandate. The performance associated with the
responsibilities should be formalized in a performance contract with the parent ministry.
The ideal highway agency should be responsible for the following functions:
Planning and development of the road network;
Management and allocation of funding to achieve its goals;
Network extension and road construction;
Road operation and maintenance; and
Highway patrolling.
To successfully perform its functions, a highway agency should ideally also be responsible for:
Human resource management;
Risk management of its activities and assets;
Involving users in planning and development; and
Regulation and licensing of road users (drivers) and vehicles 19 .
There are also functions for which it carries a shared responsibility:
Road safety, together with the police for enforcement, and trauma centers for post
accident emergency medical care;
Traffic management; and
An advisory role in the development of a road sector policy by the concerned ministry.
19 Regulation and licensing of road users and vehicles, in Bangladesh, is the responsibility of a separate organization: the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority. In
India, this task is undertaken by the state and regional transport authorities. In other cases, for example, South Africa and New Zealand, the highway agency carries
out the responsibility.
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