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On the Same Track
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One of the best ways to experience the so—called "dancing roads" of the Solomon Islands is to take a bone—shaking drive up Naro Hill in West Guadalcanal.
The steep incline is pockmarked with deep potholes and sharp boulders, which cause drivers and their passengers to be flung around like hapless rag dolls.
Naro Hill gives new meaning to the phrase "rock and roll." Just ask drivers who have tried to push their vehicles to the top of the hill in first gear, attempting not to get bogged in one of the cavernous potholes along the way.
"Frankly speaking, these are the worst conditions I've seen in 28 years of working on road projects," says Rishi Adhar, Senior Project Implementation Officer from ADB's Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office in Sydney.
The project finishes at Naro Hill beyond which a leveled road runs west all the way to the large village of Lambi, where there is a clinic and other essential services. Naro Hill is the weakest link in the chain from Lambi to Honiara: it is where vehicles get stuck or break down most often. "Once we seal and reshape the road at Naro Hill, we will remove a serious impediment to traffic in both directions, and road travel from West Guadalcanal to Honiara should be smoother and quicker," says Mr. Adhar.
Margie Lowe, New Zealand High Commission's First Secretary and New Zealand's International Aid and Development Agency (NZAID) Manager in Honiara, says there is a huge need for road rehabilitation. "Driving around the Solomon Islands, you realize how difficult it is for people to travel from A to B, how long it takes, and how uncomfortable it is. The road is virtually impassable in certain parts."
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)'s Honiara—based Development Program Specialist Paul Wright agrees. "There is a great need to fix roads here in the Solomon Islands, and road maintenance will be a priority for the future."
Major infrastructure linking provincial and market centers to communities were destroyed during an ethnic conflict in 1999–2000. "Bridges were attacked, roads were damaged, and trenches were built," says Mr. Adhar. A peace agreement signed in October 2000 ended almost 2 years of conflict between groups from Guadalcanal and Malaita provinces.
While the peace deal was good news, many communities were left without access to basic social services. Thousands of Malaitans fled Guadalcanal and resettled in rural villages in Malaita, placing a heavy burden on water supplies and schools.
There is still evidence of the civil unrest on the road heading toward West Guadal—canal. The Tanavasa bridge, west of Honiara, was blown up during the conflict. "The loss of the Tanavasa bridge affected people traveling from West Guadalcanal to Honiara, accessing clinics and other services in town," says the Post— Conflict Emergency Rehabilitation Project (PCERP) Deputy Project Manager Enaly Fifiri. "The bridge attack also hindered their transportation of goods like copra, cocoa, and other products to the Honiara central market."
PCERP is now rebuilding the Tanavasa bridge and local people have renamed it the "Bridge of Peace."
Mr. Adhar sees PCERP as a fine example of donor cooperation. He says the $8.5 million funding injection from AusAID and NZAID extends the project's scope to include the repair and rehabilitation of about 102 kilometers (km) of sealed roads, 65 km of gravel roads, and 51 bridges in Guadalcanal and Malaita provinces; and improvements to the Auki water supply system on the island of Malaita.
It is important that donors work with each other and the Solomon Islands government, says Ms. Lowe. "Sometimes in the past, we haven't worked together as well, and we've either duplicated or doubled the amount of work for the government. By coordinating, we can sort out our differences before engaging the government and speaking with one voice. I think that's very helpful for everyone," she says. "The more knowledge you bring to a project from different organizations, the more likely potential problems will be uncovered before they become big problems."
Ms. Lowe says ADB's expertise in road building, road maintenance, and project management were key elements which attracted NZAID to PCERP. Both Ms. Lowe and Mr. Wright agree PCERP was an ideal opportunity to put into practice donor coordination with ADB.
Mr. Wright says donor coordination significantly reduces transaction costs for governments. "It's easier for everyone if different programs join forces instead of trying to do similar things in similar areas," he says.
In addition, despite civil unrest in Honiara following elections in April this year, progress has continued. "During the riots, project works were suspended," Mr. Adhar says. "However, it's now business as usual and the temporary suspension shouldn't affect our anticipated completion date."
"The more knowledge you bring to a project from different organizations, the more likely potential problems will be uncovered before they become big problems"
Margie Lowe, First Secretary, New Zealand High Commission
and NZAID Manager in Honiara
Around 30% of the PCERP is now completed: about 18 km of Honiara's main road has been repaired, 4.5 km of the city's urban roads and 11 km of the East Guadalcanal main road have been rehabilitated and sealed, and the Tanavasa bridge is expected to be completed in July 2006. Rehabilitation work has also begun on three bridges along the south road in Malaita.
PCERP Project Manager Ken Munro says a good road should have the ability to shed water and should be "anything but flat." It will also have a pronounced central crown, a bit like the roof of a house. This is necessary to avoid what Mr. Munro calls "the soup bowl effect."
"Lack of maintenance, heavy rain, and traffic attrition lead to the road subsiding— the water can't escape and it becomes a self—perpetuating pothole," Mr. Munro says. "As we've seen firsthand, the Solomon Islands' roads are filled with soup bowls, especially in the west."
In West Guadalcanal, members of the Kusiko community—made up of about 22 villages and more than 400 people—are affected directly by PCERP. They were eager to voice their opinions about the road and bridge project at a community meeting with ADB, AusAID, and NZAID.
Community member Catherine Kibo says a better road for her means the difference between life and death: she says she feels encouraged by the prospect of getting to a hospital in Honiara faster should she have a medical emergency.
Other community members say a better road will mean they can go to the Honiara market more often, and their produce will get there fresher. Church leader Kanuto Kobi says that when the road is fixed, he will not have to leave before dawn to arrive in Honiara between eight and nine when businesses open. An improved road means travel time will be shorter, so he can sleep longer.
Some mothers in the community voiced concerns that a good road may lead to motorists speeding. They suggested signs be erected to deter speeding drivers.
Community leader Agapito Pipi worries that an improved road may encourage more outsiders to enter their villages.
Women in the community, such as Maria Pernada, expressed a keenness to become involved in light road maintenance for a fee, once the road is repaired. Ms. Pernada said the money she would earn would go toward her children's school fees.
Before repairing the roads and bridges under PCERP, Mr. Fifiri says the project team educates and consults communities. "We advise them there will be noise and disturbances to their normal routines. We sit down together and talk things over to try and avert problems," he says. "Community consultations are also a valuable way of gaining important feedback about a project and address any concerns people may have."
PCERP's rapid response toward restoring and repairing damaged infrastructure in the Solomon Islands is scheduled for completion by December 2007.
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