India : Advanced Project Preparedness for Poverty Reduction - Capacity Building for North Eastern State Roads Sector (Subproject 24)

Transport / Road transport (non-urban) - Transport policies and institutional development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban solid waste management - Urban water supply

The proposed TA Cluster subproject in $700,000 is to co-finance a capacity building technical assistance (the CDTA) for the North Eastern state roads sector in India, for which TA 7838-IND: Capacity Building for the North Eastern State Roads Sector, in $1,200,000 financed from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), has already been approved as a piggy-backed TA to MFF 0058-IND: North Eastern State Roads Investment Program (NESRIP) on 21 July 2011. The CDTA will strengthen state public works department (PWD) road management by introducing modern road management practices and facilitate the road management role of state PWDs by introducing more effective and efficient road management processes and systems, and establishing road maintenance funds. The implementation period of the CDTA is from July 2012 to June 2014.

The impact of the CDTA will be improved conditions of the secondary road network (state roads under the PWDs' responsibility), which in combination with the primary road network (national highways) and the tertiary road network (rural roads), will provide the rural poor with much needed accessibility to economic centers and public services. The expected outcome will be that the PWDs of the project states will have an improved capacity in planning, programming, policy formulation and asset management, and will be ready for taking larger responsibility as managers of the roads under their responsibility, which are being developed under various road development schemes. Further these PWDs will be ready to replicate the good project management practices introduced under the NESRIP in other areas of their operation.

The Government of India has applied for financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards the cost of the proposed North Eastern State Roads Investment Program (the Investment Program). The Investment Program aims to (i) improve about 430 km of priority road sections in the six states in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India, and (ii) provide capacity building support to the executing agency: the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDONER); and to the implementing agencies (IAs): the State Public Works Department (PWD) or its equivalent in each of the six project states. Financial assistance from ADB will be in the form of a multitranche financing facility (MFF), under which a series of loans will be provided upon Government's periodic financing request (PFR).

To facilitate institutional development and capacity building (IDCB) of PWDs, there will be a capacity building technical assistance (CDTA) of $1.9 million on a grant basis, of which $1.2 million will be financed from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, and $0.7 million will be financed under TA Cluster 0003-IND: Advanced Project Preparedness for Poverty Reduction by the Government of the United Kingdom through the Department for International Development. The CDTA will be carried out by an international consulting firm, to be recruited by ADB using ADB's quality- and cost-based selection procedures with a quality-cost ration of 90:10 and in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants.

Increased mobility and accessibility in the NER

Improved business process and staff skills of PWDs

Actions identified for streamlined business processes for road management by PWDs of the project states

Road Asset Management System (RAMS) database operational

Road safety program developed

Options identified for financing arrangements for road operation and maintenance in the project states.