Liberia - Feeder Roads Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY FILE CurY Report No. 2236a-LBR LIBERIA FEEDER ROADS PROJECT STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT February 14, 1979 West Africa Projects Department Section RMWA This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  Currency Equivalents US$1000 Lib$1.00 Fiscal Year July 1 - June 30 System of Weights and Measures: British/US British/US Metric 1 foot (ft) = 0.305 meter (m) 1 mile (mi) = 1.61 kilometers (km) 2 1 square mile (sq mi) = 2.59 square kilometers (km ) 1 ton (long ton) = 1.016 metric tons (m tons) Abbreviations and Acronyms ADP - Action for Development Progress ADT Average daily traffic ERR - Economic rate of return FRG - Federal Republic of Germany GDP - Gross domestic product IST - Inter-Ministerial Study Team LPMC Liberian Produce Marketing Corporation LAMCO - Liberian American Mining Company MCIT - Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Transportation BT - Bureau of Transportation (in MCIT) MPW - Ministry of Public Works (MPW) ED - Engineering Division (in MPW) FRD - Feeder Roads Division (in MPW) PPD - Planning and Programming Division (in MPW) UNDP - United Nations Development Programme USAID - United States Agency for International Development iap - Incremental agricultural production voc - Vehicle operating costs vpd - Vehicles per day  FOR OFHt iAL USE ONLY LIBERIA STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT A FEEDER ROADS PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. I. BACKGROUND ****.........................***.............. 1 A. Geographic and Economic Setting ............ *......... 1 B. Agriculture .......o.o..................... o..o. .. .......... o.. I C. The Transport System ... o.o.*.*. .. . . . . . . .. . ............ .oo ..... . 3 D. Transport Sector Management and Investments .......... 5 II. THE ROAD SECTOR ... o ....o.. ....... .... .. . . . .... ... ... .. 7 Ao The Road Network .............. .................. 7 B. Traffic on the Feeder Road Network 8.... ...... .. 8 C. The Road Transport Industry . .......... ... ....... 8 D. Administration.o............ ..o... . 9 E. Maintenance .. ...... .-.......... ............. . 10 F. Planning .............................. 10 G. Engineering and Construction ............. ........... 11 H. Appropriate Technology for Roadworks ...... oo ...... o 12 I. Domestic Contracting Industry ... o ..0-0-0.... 12 J. Financing ...... .. . .00 ... ... ....... ....... . .0. * 13 K. Past Bank-Group Assistance ... oo . ....ooo...o ... 13 III. THE PROJECT .........oo.o ............. 15 A . General .......... ..................... . .. 15 B. Construction and Improvement Program ....... o...... 16 C. Maintenance Program . ........ . .......... ..... . .. . .... .. . .. 17 D. Purchases of Equipment, Material and Suplies 18 E. Construction of Workshops and Office Buildings 18 F. Technical Assistance and Follow-up Study .18 G. Training ....20 H. Project Monitoring o. .20 I. Cost Estimates.. ... 21 J. Execution .23 K. Procurement .26 L. Financing and Disbursements 26 This report has been prepared by P. Gyamfi (Engineer/Economist) based on the findings of an appraisal mission in May/June 1978 and a follow-up mission of A. Zampilloni (Consultant) in June/July 1978. The project was prepared by an Inter-Ministerial Study Team established by the Government of Liberia. This document ha a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page No. IV. ECONOMIC EVALUATION ........... . 30 A. General ... ..................... ........ 30 B. Economic Justification ............................. 30 C. Distribution of Project Benefits .................... 34 D. Project Risks ....... ... ..................... 34 V. RECOMMENDATIONS ............ ......... 34 ANNEXES I. List of Project Roads II. Draft Outline Terms of Reference for Consultants III. Terms of Reference for Advisors to the Domestic Construction Industry IV. Outline Terms of Reference for a Position Paper on the Reorganization of Transport Planning and Coordination V. Summary Economic Analysis VI. Documents in Project File CHART M.P.W. Organization Chart 1976 MAP IBRD 13971  LIBERIA FEEDER ROADS PROJECT STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT I. BACKGROUND A. Geographic and Economic Setting 1.01 Liberia, with an area of about 43,000 sq mi, consists of a narrow coastal plain with extensive swamps, tidal lagoons and creeks; a central plateau with narrow valleys containing the high rain forest; and a mountainous area along the Guinea border. These geographical features, while presenting no insurmountable obstacles to transport, make road construction rather expensive. The population of about 1.7 million is unevenly distributed: well over 60% occupy about 30% of the land area in the country's central and southwest regions. Monrovia, the capital and commercial center, alone has some 15% of the population. 1.02 Per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased in real terms at about 2% p.a. over the period 1960-75 reaching about US$430 in 1977 which is high compared to most African countries. This growth has been based mostly in the largely foreign-controlled, modern enclaves, comprising iron ore mines, forestry concessions and rubber plantations, which contribute about 40% of GDP, 90% of export earnings and almost half of Government revenues. The country therefore suffers from a dichotomy between the prosperous modern sector, with per capita GDP of US$2,400, and the underdeveloped, subsistence agricultural sector with a per capita GDP of around US$120. The Government's current Plan (FYs 1976-80) accords high priority to rural development as the basis for long-term economic growth and as a means to reduce the stark differ- ences between the enclave and subsistence sectors. Efficient, reliable and reasonably cheap transport is vital to achieving this objective. B. Agriculture 1.03 Agriculture contributes about 25% of GDP and 26% of export earnings and is the second largest sector in the economy. It is characterized by three distinct types of farming operations: (a) concession farms, largely foreign- owned and producing rubber and oil palm exclusively for export; (b) Liberian- owned commercial farms primarily for rubber but with secondary interest in cocoa, coffee and oil palm; and (c) traditional farms mostly for food crops. The large private holdings, (a) and (b), are owned by only 7% of the farm- owning population but account for over two-thirds of the total cultivated area while traditional farmers, over 90% of the farming population, cultivate only the remaining third. 1.04 The principal food crops are rice, cassava and oil palm. Rice, by far the most important, has over the years been the object of several ad hoc and crash Government programs aimed at increasing production. So far these programs have achieved only limited success chiefly due to inadequate plan- ning, insufficient farmer involvement and lack of support facilities including  - 2 - transport. The main cash crops are rubber, cocoa, coffee, oil palm and, to a much lesser extent, coconut. Rubber accounts for about 70% of all agricul- tural exports and employs a third of the country's labor force or 90% of all agricultural wage-earners. Cocoa, coffee and oil palm, only now receiving the Government's interest, are well below their potential volumes. The Gov- ernment has recently launched a three-pronged, tree-crop development program using smallholders, the Liberian Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC) and industrial estates or special project plantations. A total of 85,000 acres is planned for tree-crop production during the five-year program period. 1.05 To increase agricultural production in line with its development priorities, the Government has adopted the following strategy: (a) implementation of integrated rural development projects to improve the productivity, income and living condi- tions of smallholders; (b) establishment and operation by public sector corpora- tions of large industrial estates with small-holder participation for oil palm, cocoa, coffee, coconut, sugar cane and rice; and (c) the continued implementation of "special projects" mostly for rice production. In addition to institutional weaknesses in the Ministry of Agriculture and lack of trained manpower for extension services, the lack of infrastructure, including feeder roads, seriously impedes the success of the above strategy. 1.06 The main agricultural development projects either underway or proposed are: Special Rice Projects: These projects in specially selected areas combine smallholder rice production with tree crops (mostly oil palm, cocoa and coffee). About 18,000 acres are being or will be cultivated by 1980 in four counties at an expected cost of some US$7 million. Large-Scale Rice Projects: These intensive, large- scale irrigated rice projects are being implemented by the Liberian Rice Corporation. A total of about US$11 million has been allocated for these projects in the Fourth Plan (FYs 1977-80) to cultivate 17,000 acres. Chinese technical assistance is managing the first phase of one such project in Grand Gedeh County.  -3- "Independence" Projects: These consist of 26 separate projects aimed at cultivating 2,000 acres per year for annual independence celebrations. The projects provide for upland rice production during the first year to be followed by tree crop plantings under the LMPC tree crop program. About US$2 million is provided in the plan for these projects. Integrated Rural Development Projects: These include the ongoing IDA-financed Lofa County and Bong County Agricultural Development Projects. The objectives of the two projects, estimated to cost about US$37 million, are to cultivate about 24,000 acres of tree crops, 28,000 acres of rainfed rice, and about 9,000 acres of swamp rice. A third project in Nimba County, the first phase of which is expected to be financed by the Federal Republic of German (FRG), aims at the development of cocoa, coffee and rice. Rubber Development Project: This Bank Group-financed project includes the rehabilitation of 23,600 acres of plantations for smallholders and replanting another 40,000 acres at a cost of about US$35 million. Forestry Development Projects: With foreign assistance, mostly FRG aid, US Peace Corps and more recently IDA, the Government has started a reforestation program for 27,000 acres. 1.07 The Bank Group is supporting the Government's objectives to diver- sify and expand agricultural production through five projects: the Agricul- ture and Technical Assistance Project (Credit 306-LBR), the Lofa Agricultural Development Project (Credit 577-LBR), the Bong Rural Development Project (Credit 700-LBR) which includes financing for a feeder roads brigade, the recently approved Rubber Development Project (Loan 1544/Credit 768-LBR) and a Forestry Development Project (Credit 839-LBR). The Bank is also financing a feeder road construction unit under the Third Highway Project (Loan 1156-LBR) to improve feeder roads under the Upper Lofa Project. Future assistance may include a rural development project emphasizing institutional development and village-level investments. 1.08 Given the inadequate extent and condition of the feeder road net- work (para. 2.02), improvement and proper maintenance of feeder roads in the project areas are indispensable to the programs' success. The roads included in the proposed feeder roads project will serve high priority areas in agri- cultural projects without feeder road components (Annex I). C. The Transport System 1.09 Liberia's transport system consists of about 4,900 miles of roads, 300 miles of privately owned railways, four seaports and 14 airfields served by regularly scheduled domestic flights. The system largely reflects the  - 4 - enclave-based economy for which it has been developed. Roads are the pre- dominant mode of transport for both passengers and non-enclave goods; coastal shipping is insignificant. Roads 1.10 Details of the road network and road transport are discussed in Chapter II. Railways 1.11 The railways, owned and operated by four mining concessions, are used almost exclusively for iron-ore transport. This traffic increased from about 12 million tons in 1964 to about 20 million tons in 1975. In addition, the Liberian American Mining Company line (LAMCO) carries some 100,000 tons of general cargo annually, including about 10,000 tons of rubber and 6,000 tons of logs and sawn timber for other concessions, and about 150 passengers daily. The development of the railways will continue to be linked with expansion of the mining sector. Possibilities under study include (a) construction of a new line from the Wologisi Range in the northeast to trans- port about 10 million tons of iron ore annually to a coastal port and (b) extension of the LAMCO Line into Guinea to transport, by 1982, up to 15 million tons per year of Guinea's iron ore to the Buchanan port. Ports 1.12 The four seaports include two deep-water ports at Monrovia and Buchanan and shallow-water ports at Greenville and Harper. Monrovia and Buchanan handle about 85% of foreign trade, about 20 million tons annually including all the iron ore, while Greenville and Harper handle mainly logs, about 300,000 tons yearly. All four ports are fairly efficiently managed, Buchanan by LAMCO, and the others by the National Port Authority (NPA). NPA's operations are profitable with an annual profit of some US$2 million. The Authority, however, needs to improve its planning and coordination. 1.13 Capacity is adequate at all ports, but planned mining and forestry developments will necessitate expansion of facilities and/or a new port. Several port studies are underway or planned to determine optimum strategies for capacity provision. Air Transport 1.14 The two international airports, Robertsfield and Spriggs Payne (near Monrovia), are served by Air Liberia and twelve international airlines. International passenger traffic and air cargo each increased about 8% p.a. between 1971 and 1976. An airport improvement program, financed by USAID and supplier credit, provided for reinforcement and extension of the runway at Robertsfield to 11,000 feet, construction of a new control tower and installa- tion of an instrument landing system. The runway at Spriggs Payne was recently extended to accommodate DC-8 size aircraft. Domestic air transport, on the other hand, has declined over the past six years, but still remains important for access to remote parts of the country not yet served by road.  D. Transport Sector Management and Investments 1.15 Several ministries and Government agencies are involved in transport planning: the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) for highways, the National Port Authority for ports, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Transportation (MCIT) for civil aviation. Railway investments are planned by the mining concessions. The Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs is responsible for integrating transport plans with those of other sectors of the economy. This set-up does not provide overall coordination of transport investments before their integration with other sectors of the economy. MCIT has been expected to perform this function, but it does not have adequate staff and will require technical assistance to strengthen a Bureau of Transportation (BT) to do this task. The Government has engaged a transport specialist under UNDP financing to define the best strategy for BT. Technical assistance to BT will be provided under the proposed project (para. 3.16). 1.16 The Government's objectives in the transport sector, as presented in the FYs 1976-80 Development Plan, are to: (a) continue improving road maintenance, (b) continue upgrading key primary roads and expanding the secondary road system, (c) provide feeder roads to support increased agri- cultural development efforts, (d) increase port capacity in Monrovia and Greenville and (e) complete modernizing the Spriggs Payne airport. Recently Government has begun to consider improving road links with neighboring Sierra Leone. The Plan allocates about US$153 million or 42% of all investments to transport (Chapter I, Table I). The level of planned spending might, however, be too ambitious especially given the large share, US$110 million, expected to be financed from external sources.  -6- Chapter I Table 1 Investments in Transport Sector (in US$'000) A. Actual Investments in 1972-1975 1972 1973 1974 1975 1. Roads Construction Foreign 2,610 186 4,026 3,798 1/ Government 708 1,050 738 1,870 Other- 48 2,213 2,335 1,845 Total 3,366 3,449 7,099 7,513 2. Airports Foreign 1,900 762 596 1,730 3. Ports Foreign 220 - 130 260 Government - 20 - Total 220 - 150 260 Grand Total 5,486 4 211 B. Investments Envisaged in 1976-1980 Plan 3/ 4/ Projects A- Projects B-/ Total 1. Roads-/ Construction Foreign 40,040 53,020 93,060 1/ Government 11,390 18,430 29,820 Other- Foreign 11,190 510 11,700 Government 4,370 1,965 6,335 Total 66,990 73,925 140,915 2. Ports Foreign 5,200 - 5,200 Government 3,650 -3,650 Total 8,850 - 8,850 3. Airports Foreign _ - Government 3,250 3,250 Grand Total 7__9_Q _3m9= Foreign (56,430) (53,530) (109,960) Government (22,660) (20,395) ( 43,055) 1/ Maintenance equipment, spare parts, street reconstruction, studies, etc. 2/ Original figures were adjusted because of revised cost estimates and road design standards. 3/ Projects completed in 1975 or underway 4/ Some projects are expected to start soon; others do not have financing secured, and it is uncertain whether they will be realized during the plan. Source: Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs, July 1977.  II. THE ROAD SECTOR A. The Road Network 2.01 Liberia's public road network totals some 3,430 miles. In addition, private rubber and timber companies have built about 1,440 miles of private roads most of which are open to public use. The network is far from adequate for the country's needs: many areas of the country have only poor road connections and some areas have none at all. There are only about 230 miles of paved roads, of which half are in the vicinity of Monrovia and other relatively large towns. Moreover, even though 1,770 miles are classified as all-weather roads, passage on most of them is difficult during the wet season. Major road investments are therefore required to serve a more diversified, agriculture-based economy. The Highway Network and its Development (miles) 1964 1971 1974 1977 A. Public Roads Primary Roads Paved 160 203 208 230 Gravel (all weather) 650 941 968 946 810 1,144 1,176 1,176 Secondary and Feeder Roads Gravel (all weather) 330 487 707 823 Earth (dry weather) 610 1,270 1,265 1,432 940 1,757 1,972 2,255 Sub-total A 1,750 2,901 3,148 3,431 B. Private Roads Paved 30 86 86 90 Gravel and Earth 500 1,184 1,308 1,354 Sub-total B 530 1,270 1,394 1,444 TOTAL 2,280 4,170 4,542 4,875  - 8 - 2.02 A particular deficiency exists with regard to the 3,600 miles of secondary and feeder roads including private roads. 1/ Most of the feeder roads were built by forestry and rubber concessionaires as short-term, low- standard haul roads and many are merely earth tracks without sufficient drainage. The situation is aggravated by the absence of maintenance by both MPW and local communities. 2.03 To improve this situation, several ministries (para 2.16) are en- gaged in rural road construction. Their efforts, however, still fall short of meeting the country's rapidly increasing needs, especially in ongoing and planned rural development programs. B. Traffic on the Feeder Road Network 2.04 Traffic on the feeder roads comprises (a) agricultural produce destined for local markets and county centers, (b) agricultural inputs and consumer goods, and (c) passengers. There is a large variation in the traffic volumes on feeder roads depending on population density, level of economic activity and road condition. Detailed traffic counts on about 1,200 miles of feeder roads, carried out by MPW's Planning Division in 1977-78, indicated that traffic varies between 5 and 115 vehicles per day (vpd) with over 50% of the roads carrying more than 20 vpd. The typical vehicles used are 3-5 ton pay-load trucks, pick-ups and mini-buses. The selection of truck size is influenced as much by the road condition as by transport demand. Traffic is highly seasonal; there is over twice as much during the harvest period as the off-season. Since the harvest season for some important cash crops coincides with the rainy season, it is important that roads are passable during that period. C. The Road Transport Industry 2.05 Available data on vehicle registration is as follows: Private Trucks Passenger Taxis and Buses Total Cars Pick-ups 1970 9,377 4,735 5,234 3,864 23,210 1971 8,996 4,103 5,454 2,521 21,074 1972 10,607 3,384 4,730 2,575 21,296 1973 10,769 3,507 5,384 3,135 22,795 1974 9,875 4,576 5,841 1,800 22,092 1975 10,375 2,421 5,466 2,497 20,759 1976 11,800 1,967 4,770 2,600 21,137 1/ The ratio of secondary and feeder to primary roads in Liberia is 3 to 1, compared to 6:1 in Ghana and 10:1 in Niger.  - 9 - The above data are overestimated since they include some vehicles which have gone out of use but are still registered. Since 1970 a system of automatic deregistration has been in effect but it will be some time before the data are correct. Data on motor fuel consumption indicate only a slow growth in traffic. Current trends show larger trucks are replacing smaller ones and mini-buses are increasing rapidly especially on those roads recently improved. 2.06 Government policy encourages the free development of the road transport industry. Existing regulations govern only vehicle licensing, registration and inspection; tariffs for intra-city taxi services; and vehicle dimensions and axle-load limits. "For hire" trucking and other passenger transport are free from regulations governing routes, tariffs, or entry into the industry. The situation is generally satisfactory with adequate competition among carriers. D. Administration 2.07 The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is responsible for all public roads. The organization of MPW is shown in Chart I. The four main functions of administration, operations (maintenance), construction and engineering are undertaken by separate bureaus for both roads and buildings. Although its responsibilities include the feeder road network, MPW has only recently started to give it the attention it deserves. To fill the vacuum various ministries and governmental agencies have independently planned and executed their own feeder road programs (para. 2.16). The proposed project will improve MPW's capacity and control over the feeder roads network. 2.08 MPW has over 4,000 employees including some 50 engineers and 12 architects. Given its increasing workload, MPW needs additional staff at the professional and subprofessional levels. Recently, efforts have been made to fill the gap at the professional level in the short-term by recruitment of a number of foreign engineers, mostly Haitians, and in the long-term by training Liberian engineers and economists at Liberian and US universities. The Bank is assisting the Government under the Third Highway Project through two scholarships for transportation economists in the US. A number of Liberian engineers will be employed by foreign contactors undertaking road construction under the Fourth Highway Project to familiarize them with up-to-date construc- tion methods. In addition the proposed project includes an overseas scholar- ship for an experienced MPW engineer to be trained in construction management (para. 3.18). 2.09 Although MPW has enough foremen, mechanics and equipment operators for current tasks, planned projects and expansion of road maintenance require recruitment and staff training. This problem is being tackled adequately on several fronts: (a) MPW provides scholarships for over 50 technicians each year for basic training; (b) MPW's training program at the FRG-financed Camp Mechlin has been training a steady stream of MPW road technicians, mechanics and equipment operators since mid-1975; (c) highway maintenance consultants under the Second and Fourth Highway Projects are providing on-the-job training for foremen, mechanics and operators; and (d) MPW is recruiting experienced  - 10 - mechanics and operators formerly employed by the Bong Mine Company which is closing down its operations. Training programs need to be continued. Under the proposed project technical assistance will provide a master mechanic to supplement the staff at Camp Mechlin (para. 3.12). E. Maintenance 2.10 MPW's Operation Bureau is responsible for maintaining all public roads. Under the Second Highway Project, MPW was reorganized and its main- tenance capacity expanded to cope with the primary and secondary road network. The Fourth Highway Project extends consultants' services to complete the staff training initiated under the Second Highway Project and to assist in implement- ing the detailed program for main road maintenance developed with consultants' assistance. 2.11 Feeder road maintenance, also MPW's responsibility, has ranged from poor to non-existent. Only periodic maintenance of a very small number of these roads is included in the Ministry's maintenance program, but even then very little maintenance is being carried out. This deficiency has been responsible for the rapid deterioration of feeder roads built by other ministries and Government agencies (para. 2.16) and a similar fate could befall roads under the proposed project. To redress the situation, the Government has developed a strategy for feeder roads maintenance. Over the short-term, the feeder roads construction units under the proposed project will be equipped to maintain the project roads during the four-year project period (para. 3.30); subsequently, responsibility would be transferred to the Operation Bureau which, by then, is expected to have increased its capacity to handle that task. In the long-term, MPW's Operation Bureau will have overall responsibility for maintaining feeder roads except farm-access tracks. Actual execution of routine maintenance will be done by local communities while MPW will perform annual reshaping and periodic regravelling. The Ministry of Local Government will organize the local communities while MPW's district engineers will provide maintenance guidelines and quality control. Mainte- nance of access tracks will be the responsibility of users. During negotia- tions Government agreed to institute feeder roads maintenance along the above lines. F. Planning 2.12 Road planning is carried out by MPW's Planning and Programming Division (PPD) which started operations in 1975. PPD's functions include collecting and analyzing data on roads and road transport, planning over- all road network development and carrying out ad hoc studies to determine economic priorities and design standards. A transport economist and two scholarships were provided for the division under the Third Highway Project, and a transport economist and highway engineer are included under the Fourth Highway Project. PPD's professional-level Liberian staff includes two engineers and two economists in addition to two economists who are studying in the US (para. 2.08). The division has the support of the Minister and is making good progress.  - 11 - 2.13 One of the accomplishments produced during project preparation was the successful introduction of feeder roads planning. This was accomplished through the establishment of an Inter-ministerial Study Team (IST) involving all ministries and agencies concerned with feeder roads; local beneficiaries are represented by the Ministry of Local Government. The Government has agreed to make the system permanent for feeder roads planning and studies. Under the system, IST will be in charge of feeder roads studies undertaken by the Government. Inputs, including the areas and roads to be studied, would be provided as needed by IST members, notably the Ministry of Agriculture. PPD will handle the preparatory work; IST will review PPD's recommendations and then help develop the feeder roads program. This process will apply to all feeder roads except on-farm or other tracks which will continue to be built by the organizations requiring them with MPW's technical advice. At negotiations the Government confirmed its agreement to institute above system for planning and studying feeder roads. G. Engineering and Construction 2.14 MPW's Engineering Division (ED) is responsible for road engineering and is capable of designing secondary and feeder roads with assistance from MPW's soils and material testing laboratory. Engineering studies for major road construction works are carried out by foreign consultants. Construction supervision for highway projects financed with international or bilateral aid is generally carried out with the assistance of foreign consultants. With ED's increased workload on primary and secondary roads, it will not be able to handle the surveying and engineering of feeder roads for some time. Therefore MPW's strategy in the short term is to continue, as with the Lofa County Brigade, to attach survey and design units to the field brigades executing feeder road works. MPW will use a local consultant to carry out more accurate surveys and engineering on feeder roads that will be constructed and improved by local contractors (para. 3.29). 2.15 Major road contracts, mostly foreign-financed, are executed by for- eign contractors. The few domestic contractors have been restricted to minor drainage works and supply of materials, except the two largest who have built secondary roads under USAID financing. Two other domestic firms have built roads for private companies and have reasonably efficient management and sizeable equipment fleets. Government's policy is clearly to develop the domestic contracting industry so that it can undertake more road construction work (paras. 2.18 and 2.19). 2.16 Several ministries -- MPW (through its Construction Bureau), Agri- culture, Local Government -- and Action for Development Progress (ADP), as well as local communities, are building feeder roads by force account. Only the Ministries of Public Works and Agriculture consider economic criteria in road selection, but even these still have no well-directed plan. Also, apart from MPW, none of these organizations pays sufficient attention to construction standards to ensure that roads are subsequently maintainable. To improve the situation the Government has adopted the following strategy for feeder roads construction: except for roads meeting mostly social objec- tives to be built and improved by the ADP and the Ministry of Local Government  - 12 - subject to MPW's standards, and on-farm and other tracks which may be con- structed and maintained by beneficiaries, MPW's Construction Bureau will be responsible for feeder roads construction and improvement, either by force account or contract (para. 2.18). The Bureau is performing satisfactorily with the Bank-financed Lofa County Feeder Roads Unit. Government has also agreed to create a Feeder Roads Division (FRD) within the Construction Bureau (para. 3.25). H. Appropriate Technology for Roadworks 2.17 A 1974 USAID-financed study of appropriate technology for roadworks in Liberia showed that there is no scope for encouraging labor-intensive methods. Demand for labor is high in rural areas during the dry season for agricultural work; road construction is ineffective in the wet season when surplus labor is available. The study concluded that intermediate technology, employing equipment to supplement labor only where necessary on technical grounds, was in all cases more expensive than mechanized technology. There- fore, equipment-intensive technology is most appropriate for road construction in Liberia. There is considerable scope, however, for manual work in main- taining drainage systems and in making emergency repairs. Maintenance under the proposed project will be labor-intensive except the annual reshaping by MPW field divisions. I. Domestic Contracting Industry 2.18 MPW does not have the manpower nor the resources to execute all feeder road works by force account. It is therefore fortuitous that feeder road construction and improvement present excellent opportunities for initia- ting and improving the domestic construction industry. As mentioned, two domestic firms are already engaged on USAID-financed secondary roads and another two are building roads for private companies. A study of the domestic contracting industry under the Second Highway Project concluded that although the two firms engaged on USAID-financed roads had fair engineering competence, they lacked proper work planning and financial control as well as adequate funds to operate efficiently. Moreover, these firms cannot realistically be expected to increase their capacity to handle the relatively large volume of feeder road works envisaged in the near future. Therefore in addition to increasing the capacity and quality of these two firms, measures should be taken to develop other firms as well as to encourage the formation of new ones. 2.19 To encourage the operation of existing firms and establishment of new ones, Government has started to: (a) organize several seminars to familiarize prospective road contractors with (i) the Government's short and long- term road construction and maintenance plans, (ii) the technical managerial and financial requirements of the industry, (iii) the state of the market, (iv) the form of assistance that can be expected from the Government, and (v) Government's prequalification requirements;  - 13 - (b) assist domestic contractors in purchasing some construction equipment; (c) replace existing local competitive bidding procedures with competitive bidding against engineers' estimates; and (d) provide direct technical assistance in the form of a construction expert to train and assist domestic con- tractors with work planning, job cost estimation, bid preparation, proper site organization and analytical accounting. During negotiations the Government agreed with the principle and outline proposals for technical assistance to MPW to assist in developing their organization for planning and supervising the work of contractors and also for local financial institutions to assist local contractors organize their financial affairs (Annex III). Funds for the services are included under the proposed project (para. 3.12). J. Road Financing 2.20 Road construction has been financed largely by foreign lending with the Bank Group, USAID, FRG and the African Development Bank as principal sources. Capital spending for highways totalled about US$15 million from 1972 to 1975. The Four-year Development Plan (FYs 1977-80) gives priority to the development of the road subsector with an allocation of about US$141 million or 38% of total investments. It is, however, unlikely that all these invest- ments will be achieved given MPW's limited absorbtive capacity and the uncer- tainty of securing all the foreign financing needed. 2.21 Expenditures for maintenance,financed from the general budget, increased from US$1.5 million in 1971 to about US$2.6 million in 1975 and US$5.3 million in 1976. For FY1978, US$6.5 million has been requested, which, if approved by the Ministry of Finance, would be adequate. No funds have been budgetted so far for feeder roads maintenance mostly because MPW has not included it in its annual maintenance program. The proposed project initiates a redress of the above situation (para. 3.08). K. Past Bank-Group Assistance 2.21 The First Highway Project (Loan 368-LBR, US$4.25 million, 1964) was completed in June 1969. The project consisted of reconstructing two roads and supplying equipment for road maintenance. The reconstruction of both roads was engineered by MPW. The Kle-Pujehun road (43.7 mi) is in fair condition with increasing amounts of maintenance required. Pavement failures rapidly developed on the Paynesville-Robertsfield road (28 mi) and the road has needed continuous repair to keep it in condition to carry the increasing traffic. The bituminous surfacing employed was pervious, permitting water to enter the road base. Sealing of the road surface arrested the rapid development of  - 14 - failure, but much of the road base had been permanently weakened and subse- quent rainy seasons have produced further areas of failure needing repair. Total project costs were US$7.00 million, 16.4% over the appraisal estimate. The Government met the full cost overrun. 2.22 The Second Highway Project (Loan 907/Credit 395-LBR, US$5.6 million, 1973) was completed at the beginning of 1978. The project included technical assistance to reorganize and improve highway maintenance and to review the domestic highway construction industry, the purchase of highway maintenance equipment and workshop tools, and the construction of the Monrovia Bypass. The project also included the detailed engineering for (i) improvements to U.N. Drive (5.4 mi), to the Totota-Ganta road (83 mi), to the Paynesville- Robertsfield road (28 mi), and to the Paynesville-Totota road (71 mi) and to Water Street in Monrovia; and (ii) a new bridge over the Mesurado river in Monrovia. 2.23 Reasonable progress has been made with the technical assistance. The construction of the Monrovia Bypass has been completed with a small cost overrun. The detailed engineering for U.N. Drive, the Mesurado River bridge in Monrovia and the Totota-Ganta road was successfully completed and the works are now under way as part of the Third Highway Project. The detailed engineer- ng for the Paynesville-Robertsfield and Paynesville-Totota roads was completed in June 1977. The design concepts for the reconstruction of the Paynesville- Totota road were too expensive and the detailed engineering of both roads required some revision to make sure that construction standards were adequate for the expected traffic. 2.24 The Third Highway Project (Loan 1156-LBR, US$27.5 million, 1975) is scheduled for completion at the end of 1979. Under this project, UN Drive in Monrovia and the Totota-Ganta road are being reconstructed and the Mesurado River bridge is being constructed in Monrovia. In addition technical assis- tance was provided for MPW's Programming and Planning Division and consultant services for (a) feasibility studies on extensions to the main road system from Ganta to Sanniquellie and to Tapeta (about 90 miles in all); (b) detailed engineering of the Mount Coffee Dam Road; (c) a study of urban development in Monrovia; and (d) assistance to equip and operate a Feeder Road Construction Unit. 2.25 Construction under the Third Highway Project is being undertaken by foreign contractors with supervision from international consultants. There have been delays on all three project items because of bad weather and diffi- culties in supplying materials, particularly crushed stone. Apart from the delays, the quality of work done has been satisfactory. Technical assistance to the Programming and Planning Unit is proving effective. The feasibility studies are well in hand, as is the urban development study. Detailed engi- neering of the Mount Coffee Dam road has been deleted from the project because the feasibility study did not show adequate justification for the work. The Feeder Road Unit started working in February 1977 and is operating successfully in Lofa County in association with the agricultural development project.  - 15 - 2.26 The Fourth Highway Project (Ln. 1573-LBR, US$13.8 million, 1978) comprises improvement of the Paynesville-Totota and Paynesville-Robertsfiled roads; detailed engineering for the Ganta-Sanniquelli and Canta-Tapita roads; feasibility study for the Gbarnga-Voinjama-Kolahun road; follow-up consulting services for the organization and execution of road maintenance; and technical assistance to the Planning and Programming Division of the Ministry of Public Works. The project is just starting. III. THE PROJECT A. General 3.01 One of the principal objectives of the proposed project is to con- tinue assisting Government in building and improving feeder roads necessary to achieve its rural development goals. In so doing, the proposed project will work to establish the institutions and train staff for planning, develop- ment and maintenance of feeder roads including closer cooperation among Gov- ernment and other agencies on feeder road matters and increased involvement of local communities. Other principal objectives are to improve overall transport planning and coordination, and to provide a base for developing the domestic road contracting industry. 3.02 The proposed project consists of: (a) a four-year program for the construction or improvement and subsequent maintenance of about 700 miles of feeder roads plus the maintenance of an additional 200 miles of existing feeder roads; (b) assistance to the domestic contracting industry; (c) studies for a follow-up feeder roads program and monitoring of project progress and its socio-economic impact; (d) assistance to MCIT's Bureau of Transportation; and (e) training for local staff including an overseas scholar- ship. 3.03 To these ends, the loan will assist in financing the following: (a) purchase of road construction and maintenance equipment, spare parts, vehicles, office equipment, workshop tools and survey equipment; (b) purchase of materials and supplies; (c) construction of workshops and office buidings;  - 16 - (d) survey and design of about 250 miles of feeder roads by local consultants and construction of these roads by local contractors; (e) technical assistance and consultancy services; and (f) an overseas scholarship. B. Construction and Improvement Program 3.04 The 700 miles of feeder roads to be constructed or improved were selected after a condition inventory and socio-economic study of some 2,200 miles by the IST assisted by two short-term consultants financed by the UK Overseas Development Ministry. Practically all the roads are located in areas of ongoing or planned agricultural development. The program's size has been determined chiefly by the manpower MPW has available to implement it. The criteria for inclusion of specific roads in the program were (a) a minimum economic rate of return (ERR) of 10% for each road; and (b) the needs of the agricultural projects supported by the roads. The necessity for geographical coordination to prevent long travel distances by each road brigade was also considered. A firm work program for the first year and tentative program for the second, third and fourth years have been agreed upon with Government (Annex 1). During negotiations the Government confirmed its agreement on the firstyear program. 3.05 Reconstruction or improvement of about 450 miles of project roads will be by force account. The works will consist of (a) reshaping with or without roadway widening, (b) regravelling selected road sections and (c) building, repairing and reinforcing drainage structures. The remaining 250 miles of roads require practically new construction and will be undertaken by local contractors. The following design standards take into consideration traffic levels and soil conditions. Feeder Road Class Type I Type II Opening Year ADT 25 and Over Under 25 Clearing width (ft) 40 30 Formation width (ft) 20 16 Gravelled width (ft) 16 12 /1 Surface type gravel/laterite Surface thickness (in) 4-6 4 /1 /1 Where necessary. During negotiations the Government confirmed its agreement to these standards.  - 17 - 3.06 The 700-mile feeder road program includes about 220 miles of feeder roads in the ongoing Lofa Agricultural Development Project. A brigade pro- vided under the Third Highway Project to start building feeder roads needed for this project will, by January 1980, have exhausted its operating funds after completing construction of 150 miles of roads. The proposed project provides for the brigade's continued operation for another four years to complete the remaining 220 miles of the 370 miles total needed by the Lofa Project. C. Maintenance Program 3.07 The project includes subsequent maintenance of the 700 miles of project roads and maintenance of an additional 200 miles of feeder roads in the project areas. During the project period, the force account brigades will also be equipped and funded to carry out annual reshaping of the roads they build and other selected roads within or close to their operating areas; roads built by local contractors will be maintained by the latter for a year after road completion and then handed over to the Operations Bureau for subsequent maintenance. Routine maintenance on the project roads, including clearing vegetation, filling pot-holes, clearing ditches,drains and drain- age structures will be the responsibility of local communities under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Local Government and technical supervision of MPW's district engineers. The Government will provide half the labor costs for routine maintenance; the remaining labor will be contributed by local voluntary labor or through funds from the beneficiary communities. During negotiations Government (a) confirmed its agreement on the above arrangements for maintenance during the project period, and (b) agreed to make, by May 31, 1979, the Ministry of Local Government responsible for the routine maintenance of the project roads. 3.08 After project completion, the maintenance equipment included under the project and responsibility for maintaining the 900 miles of feeder roads will be transferred to the Operations Bureau. The minimum acceptable main- tenance standards both during the project and after its completion will be as follows: (a) Roadways will be kept at the width to which they were constructed with adequate camber to ensure that the roadway is basically all-weather; pot-holes and larger corrugations will be eliminated; (b) Drainage will be kept free of obstructions or improved to ensure that lateral ditches and cross-drainage structures are able to carry water away without causing erosion; and (c) Drainage structures, retaining walls and slope protec- tion will be maintained or improved to ensure structural soundness and adequate protection against erosion or scour.  - 18 - At negotiations, the Government agreed to take all administrative, technical and financial steps to maintain the 700 miles of feeder roads constructed under the project and 200 miles of additional feeder roads to the above standards. The financial requirements are estimated to be about US$50,000 during the first year and to increase steadily to about US$100,000 during the final year of project implementation. D. Purchases of Equipment, Material and Supplies 3.09 MPW's Construction Bureau does not have any equipment for new brigades; therefore the project provides for all the equipment and spare parts needed to operate two new mechanized brigades and their road mainte- nance subsidiary units. Spare parts and dump trunks will also be purchased for the Lofa County feeder roads brigade. The total equipment requirements are listed in Chapter 3, Table 1. The project also provides for purchasing workshop tools and materials such as cement, steel and lumber and supplies such as fuel, lubricants and tires. The project also provides for purchas- ing equipment and supplies necessary to carry out the follow-up feeder road study (para 3.15), and material and supplies for trainign at Camp Mechlin (para 3.17). The Government has agreed to set up a separate procurement and accounting system for these project items and to appoint a Procurement Officer in the Feeder Roads Division to handle the task. E. Construction of Workshops and Office Buildings 3.10 The project provides for the construction of two modest workshops and two office buildings by local contractors for the road brigades. MPW's Engineering Division will design them. At negotiations Government agreed to construct and have these workshops in operation by December 31, 1979. F. Technical Assistance and Follow-up Study 3.11 Technical assistance (a total of 156 man-months) will be provided under the project to assist the Government in carrying out the feeder road programs and to prepare a follow-up program for feeder road improvement and maintenance, specifically to: (a) establish and manage the Feeder Roads Division of the Construction Bureau; (b) prepare bidding documents and procure equipment, spare parts, tools, materials and supplies; (c) define the annual feeder road programs and prepare detailed plans for their execution; (d) implement the feeder road programs; (e) train road foremen, mechanics and operators; (f) collect the necessay information for preparing a follow- up program for feeder roads improvement and maintenance;  - 19 - (g) monitor the project; and (h) supervise local consultants and contractors in work planning, job-cost estimation, bid preparation, proper site organization and analytical accounting. 3.12 The technical assistance will comprise the following personnel: (a) a highway engineer for two and half years to assist the chief of the proposed Feeder Roads Division; (b) a highway engineer/road technician for two years to head one of the two mechanized brigades; (c) a master-mechanic for two years; (d) a master mechanic or mechanical engineer for two years to train Liberian staff; (e) an agricultural economist who will visit Liberia periodically for a total of six months during the project period; (f) a construction expert for two years; and (g) construction/financial management expert(s) to assist approved Liberian financial institution(s) for a total of two man-years. 3.13 This volume of technical assistance takes into consideration MPW's current manpower availability and assumes that experienced Liberians would be available to fill the positions of master mechanic and road tech- nician by September 1980. At negotiations Government agreed to attach suit- able staff to the existing Lofa Brigade by February 1979 to gain the necessary experience for the above tasks.. 3.14 The experts' outline Terms of Reference, required qualifications and schedule of assignment were agreed upon with Government during nego- tiations (Annexes II and III). 3.15 The follow-up study under the project will determine additional feeder roads needs beyond the proposed project with special emphasis on maintenance. The study will be undertaken by the Interministerial Study Team with the help of the technical assistance experts. 3.16 The project will also provide for technical aid to assist reorgani- zing and strengthening MCIT's Bureau of Transportation for a total of 72 man- months. The Government has engaged a transport specialist to prepare, within  - 20 - about two months, a position paper analyzing the present situation and pro- posing a detailed course of action under Terms of Reference prepared by the Bank (Annex IV). The position paper will serve as a basis for defining in detail the precise scope and terms of reference of technical assistance to MCIT. Arrangements for the implementation of this technical assistance were confirmed at negotiations. A condition of disbursement for this technical assistance will be that the Government and the Bank have agreed on the stra- tegy for strengthening BT and on the scope of technical assistance. G. Training 3.17 The project will provide training for Liberian staff at all levels including engineers, road technicians, mechanics, foremen and equipment operators. An experienced MPW engineer will be awarded an overseas scholar- ship for an 18-month construction management course, including nine months' practical training with a reputable road construction firm. After the course the engineer will join the proposed Feeder Roads Division to oversee and coordinate the construction activities of the feeder roads brigades. Effi- cient project execution will also require training or refresher courses for about 4 road technician/foremen, 8 mechanics and 20 equipment operators. Training for these will commence at MPW training center at Camp Mechlin and will continue on the job. Training is expected to start by April 1, 1979 and be completed within two and a half years. In order not to overload the program for continuous training of road technicians and mechanics for MPW's road maintenance, the project provides for supplementing the center's staff by an instructor (para 3.12). Personnel training will be continued on the job by the technical assistance experts. At negotiations, the Government agreeAto these training arrangements. H. Project Monitoring 3.18 The proposed project includes setting up a monitoring system within MPW's Planning and Programming Division with the following objectives: (a) to develop the engineering, economic and social aspects of the project to permit (i) modifications to the project, if necessary, during implementation to maximize its output, and (ii) design of a follow-up feeder road program reflect- ing insights gained from the project; (b) to assess the long-term socio-economic impact in the feeder roads' areas of influence; and (c) to test certain assumptions underlying the engineering design of the project, including the productivity of different operations and the appropriateness of the design standards recommended.  - 21 - Project monitoring activities will include: (a) measuring traffic flows on selected roads to establish growth and evolution in traffic composition; (b) for the influence areas of the project roads, collect- ing data periodically, on a sampling basis, on (i) popu- lation size, (ii) agricultural production and proportion marketed, (iii) evolution of the economic and social fields, (iv) changes in farmgate price for different commodities and (v) changes in land ownership; (c) collecting and updating information on a sampling basis on vehicle operating costs and transport charges on project roads; (d) evaluating the productivity and cost of force account brigades and local contractors; (e) evaluating the quality and frequency of routine mainte- nance works by local communities and the appropriateness of administrative linkages between the Ministry of Local Government and the local communities; and (f) evaluating the quality of works and the rate of deter- ioration of project roads in relation to materials used, rainfall, traffic and maintenance effort and techniques. 3.19 The Planning and Programming Division will assemble the results of the monitoring operations and analyze the routine data. Each year during project implementation and biannually for six years thereafter, the Govern- ment will submit the results to the Bank annually not later than three months before the start the next year's improvement program. During negotiations the Government agreed to the items to be monitored, the use of the University of Liberia and the reporting procedures outlined above. I. Cost Estimates 3.20 Total project costs are estimated at US$18.8 million including taxes and duties. Project costs net of taxes and duties are estimated at US$16.3 million with a foreign exchange component of US$10.7 million or 66%. A summary of project costs is as follows:  - 22 - Project Cost Estimatesl/ (US$ Thousands) Net of Taxes % Foreign Project Component Local Foreign Total Exchange Taxes (a) Force Account Construction, Improvement and Maintenance (i) Equipment, Vehicles, Workshop Tools, Office Equipment and Survey Equipment 96.9 2,299.5 2,396.4 96 304.0 (ii) Spare Parts, Tire and Repairs 180.0 720.0 900.0 80 173.9 (iii) Supplies (Fuel and Lubricants) for Road Construction and Improvement 237.7 951.0 1,188.7 80 X 430.5 2/ (iv) Materials 184.9 555.0 739.9 67 v 122.3 2/ (v) Local Staff 1,260.0 - 1,260.0 0 0 (vi) Workshop and Office Building 50.0 50.0 100.0 50 40.2 (vii) Field Mobilization (Housing, Furniture, etc.) 15.0 10.0 25.0 40 10.7 Subtotal (a) 2_024.5 4,585.5 6,610.0 69 1,081.6 (b) Civil Works by Local Contractors 1,482.0 2,319.0 3,801.0 62 592.3 (c) Survey and Design by Local Consultants 137.5 62.5 200.0 31 60.3 (d) Technical Assistance for Feeder Road Programs 172.0 689.0 861.0 80 60.8 (e) Follow-up Study 60.0 40.0 100.0 40 10.5 (f) Technical Assistance to MCIT 110.0 470.0 580.0 80 29.2 (g) Training and Foreign Scholarships 120.0 50.0 170.0 29 25.3 Subtotal (a) through (g) 4,106.0 8,216.0 12,322.0 66 1,860.0 (h) Contingencies: Physical (10% on Item (a) and 20% On Item (b)) 498.8 922.3 1,421.1 64 226.7 Price 19017.1 1,581.1 2,598.2 60 406.9 Subtotal (h) 1,515.9 2,503.4 42019.3 62 633.6 Total (a) through (h) 5,621.9 10,719.4 16,341.3 66 21493.6 Total (rounded) (5,600) (10,700) (16,300) 66 (2,500) 1/ Costs base in June, 1978. 2/ Items tax-exempt when procured in bulk by MPW.  - 23 - 3.21 Cost estimates for equipment, spare parts, materials and supplies are based on recent bid prices in Liberia. Operating costs of equipment and labor are based on the experience of existing MPW road brigades and assumes the equipment will be used about 200 days a year. 3.22 Since there is no recent bidding experience in Liberia for feeder road construction, the cost estimates for road works by local contractors have been based on (a) bid unit rates for volumes of completed work in sec- ondary road construction contracts awarded to local contractors; (b) unit costs of MPW's most efficient brigade; and (c) calculated inputs of materials, equipment, and estimated contractors' overhead and profit. Average con- struction cost per mile is estimated at US$15,200 at June 1978 prices. This compares reasonably well with the construction cost of similar roads in neighboring Ivory Coast which has as an equally open economy. 3.23 The cost for survey and engineering by local consultants is based on current charges for engineering services in Liberia and includes funds for some assistance to FRD in preparing bidding documents. 3.24 The cost of technical assistance, assumed to be provided by a foreign consultant firm, is estimated at US$5,500 per month, including sala- ries, overheads and profits. Reimbursable expenses payable to consultants, i.e. housing, travel and local subsistence, are estimated at US$1,900 per man-month. The cost of the follow-up studies and project monitoring is based on these being carried out by MPW's Planning and Programming Division with limited assistance by short-term consultants. Local consultants are estimated to cost an average of US$1,500 per man-month. 3.25 A quantity contingency allowance of 10% for force account construc- tion items and 20% for civil works by domestic contractors has been included in the cost estimates. Provision for future price increases has been calcu- lated separately using the following rates: for equipment and spare parts, 7% in 1978, 6.5% in 1979 and 6% thereafter; for other items, 8% for 1978, 7.5% in 1979 and 7% thereafter. Price contingencies amount to about 20% of the total base cost in June 1978 prices. Local and foreign cost escalation have been assumed equal. J. Execution 3.26 MPW will be responsible for project execution except for the tech- nical aid in transport planning for which MCIT will be responsible. To carry out the proposed project future feeder roads activities, MPW will create and staff a Feeder Roads Division (FRD) within the Construction Bureau. The FRD's key staff will be a division chief, a quantity surveyor/road technician, a procurement officer and an accountant. The project will be implemented as shown on the implementation schedule on page 24. During negotiations the Government should confirm its agreement to (a) create and staff the FRD by July 31, 1979 and (b) to the implementation schedule.  PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1. Institution Building (a) Creation and Staffing of Feeder Roads Division (7/3/79) x [b) Recruitment Technical Assistance Experts - Highway Engineer ( 6/ 1/79) - Trainer / Instructor (4/ 1/79) XX - Highway Technician (6/ 1/79) X X - Master Mechanic (6/ 1/79) X X - Construction Expert (6/ 1/79) X X - Financial Management Expert (4/ 1/79) X -x - Agricultural Economist X-X X-X X-X - Transport Economist for MCIT (No.1) (7/ 1179) X X - Transport Economist for MCIT (No.2) (10/l/79) XX (c) Training of Road Technicians, Foremen, Mechanics 4 and Equipment Operators (4/ 1/79) K 2. Project Implementation - Preparation of Annual Programs -X X X - Preparation of Bidding Documents for Equipment0/1/7 ) X - Call for Bids (4/ 1/79) X - Analysis of Bids and Selection of Suppliers(5/ 1/79) X - Delivery of Equipment 0.1/ 1/79) X X - Selection of Local Consultants (3/ 1/79) X - Survey, Design and Preparation of Bids x for New Construction (6/ 1/79) - Prequalification of Local Contractors (7/ 1/79) X - Call for Bids from Local Contractors (10/1/79) X - Analysis and Award of Bids to Local Contractors (1/ 2/80) - Mobilisation of Force Account Brigades New Brigade 1 (10/1/79) X New Brigade 2 ( 7/1/80) X - Construction of WorKshops and Office Buildings ( 1/2/80) X - Roadworks by Local Contractors ( 3/1/80 X - Roadworks by Force Account ( 9/l/79) X A X - Project Monitoring ( 911/79) X - Project Supervision ( 4/1/79) __________________ --------------------------------------  - 25 - 3.27 The feeder roads to be constructed and improved during the first year have been agreed upon with the Government. Roads for subsequent years of the program will be proposed annually by the Ministry of Agriculture with the assistance of the respective Agricultural Project Units executing agri- cultural projects to be served by the roads. This proposed list will be reviewed and approved by the Interministerial Study Team. MPW's Planning and Programming Division will be responsible for preparing detailed work programs based on the selected roads. During negotiations, Government agreed that, three months before the scheduled start of works, it will submit for Bank approval the annual road programs, with detailed justification where necessary. 3.28 About 450 miles of the project roads, requiring mostly improve- ment and rehabilitation, will be executed by MPW's three force account brigades, including the existing Lofa brigade. Any necessary surveying and engineering prior to construction will be carried out by crews attached to these brigades with the Engineering Division assuring quality control through periodic site visits. The first new brigade will be mobilized in the field by September 30, 1979 and the second, one year later. To ensure the brigades' liquidity a revolving fund, replenishable quarterly to a ceil- ing of US$150,000, will be set up by June 30, 1979 to cover all equipment operating expenditures of the three brigades. In addition a petty cash system will be set up by the same date for each brigade in the field to a ceiling of US$15,000 per quarter to be controlled by the brigade chief. To ensure prompt supplies of materials and other inputs to the field brigades, FRD's Procurement Officer will be charged with procurement of these items separately from other MPW's procurement. During negotiations Government confirmed its agreement to the above arrangements. 3.29 Construction of the remaining 250 miles of roads will be by con- tract. The survey, design and bidding documents for these works will be executed by local consultants and subject to Bank approval before contract awards. FRD will supervise the work of both the local consultants and con- tractors with the technical assistance, if necessary, of the Engineering Division. During negotiations Government confirmed its agreement to the above arrangements. 3.30 The maintenance program will be carried out by (a) the local com- munities for side brushing, pot-hole filling and clearing of drains and drain- age structures, (b) reshaping crews attached to the force account brigades for some 650 miles of feeder roads, and (c) the resident maintenance engineers for the 250 miles of roads to be built by local contractors. The Ministry of Local Government will be responsible for mobilizing the local communities for road maintenance works. MPW will draw up the maintenance program for them and supervise its execution. During negotiations Government confirmed its agree- ment with these maintenance arrangements. 3.31 Detailed plans and construction supervision for the workshops and office buildings under the project will be done by MPW's Engineering Divison. Construction is expected to be by a local contractor.  - 26 - K. Procurement 3.32 Equipment, vehicles, spare parts, materials and supplies amounting to about US$4.1 million will be procured through international competitive bidding in accordance with Bank Group Guidelines. These items will be bulked to the extent possible to make them attractive to international manufacturers and dealers. Goods manufactured in Liberia will be allowed a preference of i5% of the c.i.f. price on imported goods or the prevailing duties, whichever is lower. Contracts for equipment, materials and supplies costing less than US$60,000 may be awarded on the basis of competitive bidding following local procedures acceptable to the Bank. The aggregate amount of such purchases will not exceed US$400,00. Contracts for construction of 250 miles of roads and two workshops and office buildings for a total of US$6.0 million includ- ing contingencies will follow competitive bidding advertised locally against MPW estimates by contractors prequalified by MPW with Bank approval. Local consultants for survey, design and preparation of bidding documents for 250 miles of roads and foreign consultants for technical assistance will be employed in agreement with and under Terms of Reference and conditions satis- factory to the Bank. The above arrangements were agreed upon with Government during negotiations. L. Financing and Disbursements 3.33 The proposed loan of US$10.7 million will finance about 66% of total project costs net of taxes, i.e. all foreign costs. The Government will finance the local costs of US$5.6 million. Taxes and duties are estimated at US$2.5 million. A financial schedule of project elements is given in Chapter III, Table 2. 3.34 The loan funds will be disbursed as follows: (a) 100% of the foreign costs of imported equipment, vehicles, spare parts, workshop tools and survey and office equipment, or 80% of the total costs of these items if purchased locally; (b) 80% of total expenditures for materials and supplies; (c) 62% of total expenditures for civil works by local contractors; (d) 30% of total expenditures for local consultants, studies and training; (e) 100% of foreign expenditures for technical assistance experts and expatriate consultants; and (f) 100% of foreign costs of the overseas scholarship.  - 27 - Retroactive financing by the Bank to a maximum of US$0.1 million is provided for (a) purchase of two dump trucks for the Lofa County feeder roads brigade, (b) purchase of a pick-up for the proposed Feeder Roads Division and (c) for the initial costs of the training expert. Requests for disbursements will be fully documented. Disbursements for civil works carried out by force account would be made against Certificates of Expenditure with the supporting docu- mentation retained by the Government and kept available for inspection during the course of supervision missions. Based on the foregoing and the imple- mentation schedule, the estimated schedule of disbursements is as follows: Estimated Schedule of Disbursements (US$'000) Bank Fiscal Disbursements Cumulative Undisbursed Year Quarter during Quarter Disbursements Amount 1979 3 0 0 10,700 4 100 100 10,600 1980 1 200 300 10,400 2 200 500 10,200 3 1,300 1,800 8,900 4 600 2,400 8,300 1981 1 1,300 3,700 7,000 2 500 4,200 6,500 3 500 4,700 6,000 4 600 5,300 5,400 1982 1 500 5,800 4,900 2 500 6,300 4,400 3 500 6,800 3,900 4 500 7,300 3,400 1983 1 500 7,800 2,900 2 500 8,300 2,400 3 600 8,900 1,800 4 600 9,500 1,200 1984 1 600 10,100 600 2 600 10,700 0 Source: Mission's Estimates November, 1978  - 286- Chapter 3 Table 1 Eqiuipment to be Purchased A. For Brigades I/ No. of Units Unit Costs(Net of Taxes)- Total Costs(Net of Taxes) ConstructionMS1mtteaaceeTotal (US$ 1000) (US$ 1000) Brigadeb- Units Local Foreign Total Local Foreign Total BulIdozerkw/ripper(200 HP) 2 _ 2 4.5 135.5 140.0 9.0 271.0 280.0 Bulldozer w/ripper(140 HP) 2 - 2 3.4 102.6 106.0 6.8 205.2 212.0 Motorgrader (120 HP) 4 3 7 2.9 69.1 72.0 20.3 483.7 504.0 Wheel-loader (80 HP) 2 - 2 2.1 50.9 53.0 4.2 101.8 106.0 Pneumatic-tyred roller 2 - 2 0.7 21.3 22.0 1.4 42.6 44.0 Dump Trucks (6 m3) 15 3 18 1.3 28.7 30.0 23.4 515.9 543.3 Water Teuck 2 - 2 1.1 33.9 35.0 2.2 67.8 70.0 Fuel Truck 2 - 2 1.3 38.7 40.0 2.6 77.4 80.0 Mobile Workshop 2 - 2 2.8 84.2 87.0 5.6 168.4 174.0 Service Pick-up 2 - 2 0.4 11.6 12.0 0.8 23.2 24.0 Utility Pick-up 2 - 2 0.3 9.7 10.0 0.6 19.4 20.0 4-Wheel Drive Vehicles 4 - 4 0.4 11.6 12.0 1.6 46.4 48.0 Service Car 2 - 2 0.2 6.8 7.0 0.4 13.6 14.0 Lubrication Unit 2 - 2 1.1 31.9 33.0 2.2 63,8 66.0 'Compressor w/tools 2 - 2 0.7 20.3 21.0 1.4 40.6 42.0 Water Pump 2 - 2 0.1 3.9 4.0 0.2 7.8 8.0 Concrete Mixer 2 - 2 0.2 7.8 8.0 0.4 15.6 16.0 Generator (6 KVA) 2 _ 2 1.0 14.0 15.0 2.0 28.0 30.0 Welding Machine 2 - 2 0.1 3.9 4.0 0.2 7.8 8.0 Power Drill 2 - 2 0.1 2.9 3.0 0.2 5.8 6.0 Surveying Instruments (Set) 2 - 2 0.2 6.8 7.0 0.4 13.6 14.0 Hand Tools for Mechanics, Carpenters, etc. 2 - 2 0.5 9.5 10.0 1.0 19.0 20.0 Communication Equipment 2 - 2 0.1 2.9 3.0 0.2 5.8 6.0 Subtotal A 87.1 2 j244. 2 2=31.=3 B. For Central Unit Service Car 1 0.1 7.5 8.0 0.1 7.9 8.0 4-Wheel Drive Vehicles 3 0.4 11.6 12.0 1.2 34.8 36.0 Typewriters 2 0.1 0.9 1.0 0.2 1.8 2.0 Duplicating 14achine 1 0.3 3.2 3.5 0.3 3.2 3.5 Adding Machine 2 - 0.3 0.3 - 0.6 0.6 Office Furniture (Set) 1 8.0 7.0 15.0 8.0 7.0 15.0 Subtotal B 9.8 55.3 65.1 GRAND TOTAL (A + B) 96.9 2,299.5 2,396.4 1/ Total Duty on A and B - US$ 354,000. 2/ Including 5 for Lofa County  Fir.ica al Schedule of Project Ble-et. (US$15000 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 TOTAL froject Cp.ponent Local Fore.is Total Luc.S Foreice Total Local Fore-ie Total lel F-oreiRn Total - orF-ei Totel LTOTl F i Tool A. Force Accuout Work 1. Equip=nt, vehicle. .-ork.hp Tol., Office Equip-.ot od Survey Equipet 56.3 1,248.8 1,305.1 40.6 1,050.7 1,091.3 . - - - - - _ _ 96.9 2,299.5 2,396.4 2. Spare P-rt., Type. od .pWtre 19.4 459.9 479.3 40.0 65.0 105.0 40.0 65.0 105.0 40.0 65.0 105.0 40.6 65.1 105.7 180.0 720.0 900.0 3. Fuel ood Lubricant, for C-oetroctioo od leprove--ot 25.2 101.2 126.4 45.5 182.1 227.6 60.7 242.8 303.5 60.7 242.8 303.5 45.6 182.1 227.7 237.7 951.0 1,188.7 4. Mhteril. cd Sopplie. 19.7 59.0 78.7 35.4 106.3 141.7 47.2 141.7 188.9 47.2 141.7 188.9 35.4 106.3 141.7 184.9 555.0 739.9 5. L-ocl Stcff 133.8 - 133.8 240.9 - 240.9 322.2 - 322.2 322.2 - 322.2 240.9 - 240.i 1,260.0 - 1,260.0 6. Work.hbp rod Office Boilding. 25.0 25.0 S0.0 25.0 25.0 50.0 - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - 50.0 50.0 100.0 7. Field Mobli-tioo 7.5 5.0 12.0 7.5 5.0 12.0 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 15.0 10.0 25.0 Subtotal A 286.9 1,098.9 2,185.8 434.9 1,434.1 1,869.0 470.1 449.5 919.6 470.1 449.5 919.6 362.5 353.5 716.0 2,024.5 4,585.5 6,610.0 S. Other Item. 1. CIvil Work, by Local Contrctor. 148.0 240.0 388.0 280.0 454.0 734.0 387.0 628.0 1,015.0 335.0 543.0 878.0 332.0 454.0 886.0 1,482.0 2,319.0 3,801.0 2. Survey cd Deigo by Local Conaultnt. 27.5 12.5 40.0 27.5 12.5 40.0 27.5 12.5 40.0 27.5 12.5 40.0 27.5 12.5 40.0 137.5 62.5 200.0 3. Techcic.l A...t.anoe 59.6 248.8 308.4 141.6 546.8 688.4 78.6 354.6 433.2 2.2 8.8 11.0 - - - 282.0 1,159.0 1,441.0 4. Stcdle. - - _ 10.0 5.0 15.0 20.0 10.0 30..0 25.0 10.0 35.0 5.0 15.0 20.0 60.0 40.0 100.0 5. Tr-iciog ud Fore-ig Soholor-hip 50.0 15.0 65.0 40.0 20.0 60.0 30.0 15.0 45.0 _ - _ _ 120.b3 50.0 170.0 Subtotal 8 285.1 516.3 801.4 499 1 1 030.3 1 537.4 543.1 1,020.1 1,563.2 389.7 574.3 964.0 _ 1S 846.0 2,081.5 3,630.5 5,712.0 Subtotal A B B 572.0 21415.2 g87 23.8 4 jj i a449 21.482 6 ,,8 J 1u2,a. L8832