Liberian-Swedish feeder roads project (Phase 3)

Project details
Country: 
Liberia
Beneficiary: 
Embassy of Sweden in Monrovia
Donor organisation: 
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
Associated enterprises: 
FCG Swedish Development AB
Department: 
Transport & Mobility
Project volume: 
5,505,837 €
Currency: 
€
Value of services: 
2,202,335 €
Start of project: 
December, 2017
End of project: 
December, 2021
Project description: 

LSRFP 3 will be supporting Liberia's transition from post conflict reconstruction to inclusive growth and wealth creation in line with the Government's Agenda for Transformation and for this third phase shift the focus to the southeast where some of the most poorly connected and poorest counties of Liberia are situated. Here, feeder roads will connect communities of small-scale farmers to the functioning road network and help meet the service delivery, agricultural diversification and inclusive growth objectives set out in the current Economic Stabilization and Recovery Plan (ESRP).

This will be done through:

  • Rehabilitation of 370 kilometres of feeder roads in the counties of Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Maryland, Nimba and River Gee;
  • Routine and periodic maintenance of LSFRP 1, 2 and 3 improved roads. An estimate of 111 km roads are expected for periodic maintenance and will be funded 50 % by Sida and 50% by the coming Road Fund. 3000 km roads are estimated for routine maintenance to be funded 100% by the Road Fund;
  • Improve the capacity in the public and private sectors to rehabilitate and maintain rural roads;
  • Support the government strategy and donor coordination for a nationwide rural roads programme;
  • Potential adverse project impacts from land take, environmental damage and spread of Gender and HIV/AIDS awareness; and
  • Developing a robust M&E system.

The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is the implementing Ministry responsible for the planning and design, construction, supervision and maintenance of the road network as well as other public-sector buildings, structures and infrastructure. One of the cornerstones of the LSRFP 3 project is to build the administrative, managerial, and technical capacity of the Feeder Roads Unit staff members and other MPW staffs that will directly or indirectly be associated with the project. The Project Finance Management Unit (PFMU) located at the Ministry of Finance, is responsible for financial administration and internal control of the project resources. The project shall follow the Financial Management System in accordance with National Legislation.

The LSFRP 3 will assist MPW in procuring local services and technical assistance to ensure maximum use of national resources including: Supervising and then monitoring the execution of all physical works; Supporting and extending the coverage of MPW's ROMAPS; Provision of technical and managerial training; and Coordinating responses to technical and financial audit queries and follow up the implementation of audit findings.

This will require LSFRP 3 to deliver services and training to:

  • Strengthen the functional and operational capacity of the MPW Head, Maintenance Hub and County offices;
  • Help establish and promote MPW's policies and programmes in Quality Assurance Standards and Norms;
  • Improve feeder rural road planning and management functions by including social and environmental assessments along with appropriate follow-up activities;
  • Further develop feeder road standards in the light of project experience;
  • Help implement contract management systems and improve contract supervision, monitoring and management by county and head office staff;
  • Plan and manage rural road maintenance;
  • Assist community based organisations (CBOs) to become Procurement Entities and manage tender preparation and bidding procedures;
  • Evaluate and award maintenance contracts;
  • Carry out maintenance contract management and supervision/monitoring tasks;
  • Develop and consolidate consultative processes and dialogue with community and interest group primary stakeholders.
Service description: 

Feeder road rehabilitation

  • Assessment of the procurement procedures and documentation of previous phases;
  • Review and revision of roads design;
  • Establishing detailed road selection criteria;
  • Evaluation and prioritisation of the roads;
  • Preparation of tender documentation in line with requirement of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act; and
  • Establish processes and filing system in line with requirement of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act.

Capacity building

  • Conduct a training needs assessment including the capacity development needs MPW staff at central and county level, contractors and CBOs;
  • Develop training programmes in collaboration with other ongoing donor initiatives. The direct beneficiaries in order of priority are: FRU staff and other MPW support staff; local contractors; local government staff; and CBOs in project communities. Indirect beneficiaries to consider include staff of local consulting firms; internship programs for college and high school students; and initiating bilateral agreements with educational institutions for training;
  • On the job training of MPW staff; and
  • Set-up the M&E system within the MPW M&E division and provide capacity development of its staff for them to be able to conduct the baseline and other surveys all through the duration of the project.

M&E

The LSFRP3 3 will establish a robust M&E system to be able to assess both traffic effects and the effected results for concerned communities and people living along the road whose access has been changed in monetary and time terms. The establishment of the M&E systems included:

  • Review of the log-frame, baseline and M&E from the previous phases;
  • Conduct pilot the baseline survey study on selected LSFRP3 road;
  • Develop SMART indicators of actual impacts, in close dialog with relevant stakeholders;
  • Develop a suitable database located at the MPW M&E division;
  • Develop survey tools for monitoring the impacts of the road maintenance programme; and
  • Conduct follow-up surveys to be used after rehabilitation has been completed and compared to the baseline to show continuing impacts and trends over the years.

Quality control & quality assurance

  • Establish standard in-house quality management procedures to ensure the desired quality standards of both the execution as well as the quality of end product/service including document templates, instructions, and checklists;
  • Performance assessment by closely monitoring the performance of the PMC team; and
  • Cost control / variations by close control of the project budget from the very outset and every endeavour within the limits of the original budget.
Objectives: 

The overall objective of LSFRP 3 is to improve opportunities for poor people to enhance their living conditions and livelihoods by the provision of sustainable road access. The project purpose is to improve road access which will (a) enable small-scale farmers' access to market more agricultural produce; (b) facilitate all year-round social service delivery particularly in the health and education sectors and (c) create income earning opportunities for young men and women in the rural areas.

Currency: 
€