Normally, feeder roads in Uganda are surfaced with gravel. But traffic load and severe tropical rainstorms can cause gravel roads to deteriorate relatively quickly, leaving them uneven and consequently costly to drive on. As a results locals must pay a higher price to have their produce transported to market, as the worse the road condition the more trucks charge for driving along it.
Thus there are high expectations to the outcome of the pilot project in Uganda. "Innovative pavement designs should result into cheaper roads being build and thus more roads built from the available resources," says senior engineer Gilbert Kimanzi from Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals Development.
"An improved road network is a key factor in the poverty eradication programme of the Government of Uganda. The locals will have an easy means of transporting their local produce to local markets where the prices for their produce is higher than at the farm gate. The other advantage is of course the ease with which other attendant services can be provided and expanded to the rural areas once the transport system is improved. The attendant key services in the poverty reduction programme are construction of water and sanitation infrastructure, provision of health services including infrastructure development, primary education, etc." He considers that the concept could easily be used elsewhere in Africa, as most developing countries are faced with the same problems.
"I think demonstration roads - using these innovative designs - should be built in each country to help demystify these techniques. Capacity building and training programmes should then follow to expose the road sector professionals and contractors in the application of these techniques," concludes Gilbert Kimanzi. By Christina Tækker, cht@cowi.dk Published: 28.06.2004