Military reference books and manuals (2009-2023, Volume 6)

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - MAIN REPORT

Table 10: Disbursement accounts and financing rules for IFAD grant

Disbursement Accounts by Financiers

Total

FINANCIER AND FINANCING %

(US$ Million)

Amount

NET OF TAXES

A. Civil works

9.97

IFAD 100%

B. Vehicles and Equipment

0.18

IFAD 100%

C. Training, technical assistance and studies

2.28

IFAD 100%

D. Other Recurrent Costs

0.37

IFAD 100%

E. Road Maintenance Costs

IFAD Financed Road Maintenance

0.15

IFAD 100%

Beneficiary Financed Road Maintenance

0.09

BENEFICIARY 100%

TOTAL

13.04

¹ IFAD will finance 100% of the Road maintenance fund up to year 3 of the project and the beneficiaries would

finance 100% of year 4 of the project

99.

Retroactive financing is proposed to reimburse costs incurred during the design of the

project and intended to accelerate its effective start-up. This will cover the cost of the survey of Arab 6

- Es Soubagh - Husheib road, up to a maximum of USD 120 000 under the training, technical

assistance and studies category for the survey and design of the Arab 6 - Es Soubagh - Husheib road

and the cost for the prequalification of consultancy firms and contractors. The funds will be advanced

by the BDA against Government funding, and will be claimed once the RAP is effective based on

submission of supporting documentation. .

100.

Procurement. The procurement of works, goods and services will be in line with the IFAD

procurement guidelines. Moreover, IFAD, GoNU and other development partners (potentially the EU)

will jointly develop a governance framework for the road works with the aim of increasing

competitiveness, transparency and value for money in this sector. A detailed 18 month procurement

plan for the project was developed in working paper 3, and will be developed annually as part of the

AWPB. The thresholds for prior review and the procurement modalities were determined as follows:

Table 7: Prior review thresholds

Threshold For

Prior Review

Procurement Method

Procurement

Threshold

Method USD

NCB (Goods)

50 000

All contracts

Shopping (Goods)

50 000

None

NCB (Works)

50 000

All contracts

Shopping/Community

Participation (Works)

50 000

The first 5 contracts

ICB (Services)

50 000

All contracts

101.

Audit. The RAP will be subject to an annual audit by the General Auditor's Chamber, similar

to the audit provisions for the BIRDP. Both the accounts of the RAP and the CRF will be audited.

VII.

PROJECT RISKS AND SUSTAINABILITY (KSF 5)

A. Risk analysis

102.

The main risks and risk mitigation responses are summarized in table 12 hereafter.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - MAIN REPORT

Table 8: Critical Risks and Mitigation Measures

Risks

Risk

Risk Mitigation Measures

rating

Country Level:

The State of Gadaref committed to schedule the

Reduced support to traditional rainfed

Husheib-Gadaref road in the 2010 budget and to fund

agriculture either through reduced ARP

it from available resources for state development.

budget or reduced GoNU development

budget

Similarly in the State of Kassala, the construction of

the New halfa - Arab 6 road is under-way and the

construction of the New Halfa - Um Al Gora has been

contracted out and the works are set to start in

October 2009.

Entity Level:

- A qualified consultancy firm will be recruited to build

- The BDA has a limited implementation

BDA expertise in the road sector and to organize and

record to date, and no expertise in road

provide capacity building to the Road Departments in

construction and maintenance.

the MPPPUs and to the communities.

Non synchronized implementation

- BIRDP activity planning is being readjusted to ensure

between market rehabilitation under the

synchronization with RAP. Moreover, BIRDP and RAP

BIRDP and road improvement under RAP.

are directly supervised to allow an early identification

of performance problems and implementation of

appropriate corrective actions.

Project Level

A number of safeguards are put in place to ensure

- Mismanagement of procurement, or

efficiency and effectiveness of procurement for the

contract award or contract supervision.

road works:

- Prequalification of contractors with assessment

based on field visits and reference check;

- Prequalification of the consultancy firms that will be

providing the technical team in the BDA;

- IFAD will retain a road engineer to supervise the

progress of works and the compliance with technical

specifications.

- IFAD and GoNU will develop a governance

framework for the procurement of road works in

project year 1.

- Unwillingness of users to pay for the road

- A study to assess users' willingness to pay and the

maintenance.

feasibility of the CRF was carried out in June 2009 and

is provided in annex

7. On the basis of these

calculations, the road tolls and market fees should be

sufficient to cover the routine and periodic

maintenance costs.

- Administrative decree to levy road tolls and market

fees towards the maintenance of the road is schedued

to be endorsed in 2010.

Reporting/Auditing

A number of safeguards are built into the project

Weak M&E which does not generate

design to ensure adequate M&E (annex 6):

required data to carry out result

- division of roles and responsibilities for the collection

measurement of the project and

of different level indicators;

comparative analysis between spot

- selection of quantifiable and easily collected data;

improvement and conventional approaches

- reliance on known data collection techniques (road

for the construction of rural roads.

survey, traffic survey, RIMS survey)

Risk ratings: High Risk (H) - greater than 75 percent probability that the outcome/result will not be achieved;

Substantial Risk (S) -probability of 50 - 75 percent that the outcome/result will not be achieved; Modest Risk (M) -

probability of 25 - 50 percent that the outcome/result will not be achieved; Low or Negligible Risk (N) - probability of

less than 25 percent that the outcome/result will not be achieved.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - MAIN REPORT

B. Exit strategy and post-project sustainability

103.

The scenario adopted for project sustainability rests on the following elements:

The capacity of the Road Departments in the MPPPUs in Gadaref and Kassala is built up

thus enabling these departments to carry out satisfactory design works and supervision and

maintenance for the rural road network of the states. The design missions assessed that the

engineering staff in the State MPPPUs is young, academically well qualified but lacks

technical guidance and hands on experience. The project will provide the required technical

guidance (through technical backstopping, development of operational manuals, etc…) as

well as on-the-job training for the staff of the Road Departments.

The routine and periodic maintenance of the rural road is implemented and is financed from

the proceeds of the road tolls and market fees. The structure and operation of the Community

Road Fund were discussed with the communities, the localities and the Road Departments in

the MPPPUs of Gadaref and Kassala, thus validating in principle the model proposed.

Moreover a feasibility study of the CRF suggests that the proceeds from the road tolls and the

market fees would largely cover the maintenance costs.

The spot improvement and preventative maintenance approach is replicated at state and

federal level. The two key partners for the mainstreaming and replication of this approach are

the NHBA and the rural infrastructure working group of the ARP. Both organizations will be

involved in the monitoring and supervision of the project, its mid term review and its

completion assessment.

104.

The following indicators are taken as milestones for project sustainability:

At mid-term

At completion

- The Road Departments' technical capacity is

- The Road Department has presented satsifactory road

assessed as satisfactory.

design works and is carrying out supervision for new

road alignments.

- The CRF is set up and facilitating the

implementation of maintenance works.

- The CRF annual fund replenishment covers 100%

maintenance costs.

- M&E data indicates that spot improvement is more

adapted for rural roads than the conventional approach

- Spot improvement approach replicated on 200 km

to road construction.

rural roads and incorporated as part of the rural roads

programme in the ARP.

VIII.

INNOVATIVE FEATURES, LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (KSF 6)

A. Innovative features

105.

The main innovative feature in the RAP is the spot improvement approach to road

construction and the establishment of a Community Road Fund for the maintenance of the rural road.

This approach is deemed to be best suited for the environmentally sensitive rainfed areas given their

low population density, the seasonal trade activity, impassability of the roads during the relatively

short rainy season and the insufficient financial resources available to meet the great need for road

development. Provisions were included in the design of the project to develop the methodology for

spot improvement and road maintenance, as well as for its replication.

B. Project knowledge products and learning processes

106.

The knowledge products of the project consist of: (i) the operation manuals for the rural roads

design, construction, supervision and maintenance; (ii) the progress reports and assessment studies

on project effectiveness;

(iii) the comparative analysis between the project approach and more

conventional approaches to rural road construction and maintenance. The dissemination and use of

these products will be facilitated through annual stakeholder workshops. The stakeholder workshops

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - MAIN REPORT

will bring together the representatives of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, the rural

infrastructure working group of the ARP, the NHBA, the MPPPUs in Gadaref and Kassala States, the

BDA, the localities and community representatives. Donors financing road networks such as the

European Union will be invited to share experiences from the rural feeder road programme under

implementation in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

C. Regional knowledge networking

107.

The project will benefit from the IFAD technical advisory division efforts to establish best

practices in the area of rural transport, and to establish partnerships with the International Forum for

Rural Transport and Development and the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program. Progress

and supervision reports will be shared with the Forum to promote learning.

IX.

NEXT STEPS

108.

The next steps include:

The validation of the design works proposed for the road. The MPPPU of Gadaref State is

expected to submit the revised design works by mid October 2009. The design works will be

validated in the field with NHBA, state, locality and community representatives.

Launch of the expression of interest for consultancy firms and contractors with a view to their

pre-qualification. The NHBA has shared with the design completion mission a list of qualified

firms. The process for the prequalification is explained in annex 8, start-up activities.

Negotiation of the grant agreement in time to present the project for approval to the Executive

Board in December 2009. IFAD will agree with the Government to add the following as

additional covenants: (i) the passing of the administrative decree on road tolls in 2010; (ii) the

development of a good governance framework for rural roads construction, supervision and

maintenance in 2010.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX I

ANNEX I: CONTENTS OF THE PROJECT LIFE FILE

All the documents of the Sudan Operations are available on IFAD Desk Site at the following link:

http://xdesk/sites/pn/sdn/Operations/Forms/AllDocuments.aspx

Country Programme Documents

Result-Based COSOP for Sudan, April

2009.../../COUNTRY%20DOCUMENTS/RB%20COSOP%20BOARD%20DOCUMENTS/EB-2009-96-

Sudan Country Programme Evaluation, OE, 2008

(../../Sudan%20Country%20Programme%20Evaluation%20CPE%20200708/Version%20Final%20CP

E%20report.doc

Case Study for Sudan, Empowering Rural Poor in a volatile Policy Context, IFAD/IFPRI, 2005

Sudan Project Design Documents

Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project, Appraisal report ../../GASH-

1263/GSLRP%20APRRAISAL%20REPORT/GSLRP%20APPRAISAL%20MAIN%20REP.%20WITH

Butana Integrated Rural Development Project, Appraisal report ../../BIRDP-

1332/BIRDP%20APPRAISAL%20REPORT/BIRDP%20APPRAISAL%20REP.%20AND%20APPENDI

Lessons learned from similar projects

Sudan, North Kordofan Rural Development Project, Completion Report, 2008 (../../NKRDP-

1045/Project%20Completion%20Report%20(PCR)/NKRDP-PCR.doc

IFAD, Comprehensive Review of IFAD Rural Roads, Travel and Transport (RTT) Experiences,

1994-2007

IFAD, Yemen, Pilot Community-Based Rural Infrastructure Project in Highland Areas - Loan

669-YE, Appraisal report

(http://xdesk/sites/pn/yem/Pilot%20CommunityBased%20Rural%20Infrastructure%20Project/Forms/Al

lItems.aspx)

ANNEX II: RESULT-BASED LOG FRAME

Narrative Summary

Verifiable Indicators

Means of Verification

Assumptions/Risks

Goal

COSOP Goal: contribute to empower the

•

Increase of rural incomes from USD 500/

UNICEF survey in the

- Sustained and increasing investments

rural poor to increase their food security,

capita to USD 800/ capita, in country

concerned states.

for social and productive services in

incomes and resilience to shocks

programme areas

drought and conflict affected areas.

RIMS survey at baseline and

•

Reduction in the prevalence of malnutrition in

completion

- Increased GoNU support to the

children under 5

rainfed agriculture sector.

•

No. of households with improvement in

household asset index

Purpose/Objective

Project objective: Improved access of

•

15 000 producers benefiting from market

Baseline survey, mid-term

the rural population in Central Butana to

access by project end.

and completion reports

- Increased agriculture surplus as a

markets and social services.

•

1700 additional women trading in the markets

Road traffic survey

result of production support received

served by rural feeder roads by project end.

from the BIRDP

BIRDP Progress reports

•

Decrease in transportation from 2 days at Es

- Increased producers’ gross margin by

Sadda to 1 hour during rainy season

80% as a combined effect between the

BIRDP and RAP;

•

Decrease in transportation tariff from approx

- Increase in sale prices for livestock by

15 SDG to 8 SDG/ trip

25% in rainy season

•

Increase in road traffic volume: from an

average of 71 vehicles/day to 96 by mid term

and to 124 by project end.

Results of the project

1) Rural roads upgraded in Central

• Number of km improved in Butana. Target:

Project progress report

Administrative decree for road toll and

Butana and regularly maintained

144 km by year 3 of project

market fee levies passed, complied

with by road users and enforced by

•

144 km of road maintained by project end

communities and localities.

2) Communities are trained to manage

• Tolls collected cover annual O&M costs.

Project progress report

road tolls and to engage in labor based

Target USD 95 000 as of project year 3

maintenance contracts.

• Number of labor days in labor based

contracts, by gender and by poverty group.

Target: 10 000 labour day aggregate by

project end, at least 50% women and 50%

below 30 years.

3) State capacity strengthened to plan,

• Performance of the Road Departments in

Project progress report

design, supervise, and maintain rural

MPPPU of Kassala and Gadaref rated

Consultancy firm assessment

feeder roads, using the spot improvement

satisfactory

of the performance of the

approach

• Lengths of new roads designed using the spot

Road Departments in

improvement approach: at least 200 km by

Gadaref and Kassala

project end

• Road network plan established by year 2.

• State budget allocation based on the road

network plan.

• Community Road Fund expanded to other

rural road networks in Kassala and Gadaref

by project end.

Activities of the project

1.1. Rehabilitation and construction of

• Number of kms constructed/ rehabilitated

Project progress reports

Competitive contracting to ensure cost

identified priority rural feeder roads in

annually

efficiency

Butana area

1.2. Implementation of conservation and

• Number of conservation and water control

Project progress reports

water control works around the roads

works implemented annually

selected for rehabilitation/ construction

1.3. Establishment of a community road

• Composition and by-laws of Community Road

Project progress reports

Willingness of communities to pay for

fund

Fund established by year 2 of project.

the maintenance of the road

2.2. Training of community on road

•

21 road committees established by year 3 of

Project progress report

maintenance and managing maintenance

project.

contracts

•

21 road committees with women in leadership

position by year 3 of project.

• About 400 community members trained by

project end, 50% women, 50% below 30

years

3.1. Capacity building of states through:

• Number of vehicles procured

Project progress report

Clear evidence of the advantages of

the proposed approach compared to

- establishment of rural roads

• Number of offices rehabilitated and equipped

the conventional approach,

management units in the Road

demonstrated by RAP to NHBA, the

Dept.MPPPUs

• Number of government staff trained by

MPPPUs and communities

gender

- training in selection and design of spot

improvements, supervision

• Types of training topics provided

- Training on improved road maintenance

- Planning, surveying and costing of

priority roads.

4.1. Project management through:

• Number of TA mobilized and duration

Project progress reports

- Selection of high calibre technical

team

- recruitment of consultancy firm

• Number of monitoring visits by NHBA

- Synchronised implementation

- validation of design and supervision of

• Marketing activities under BIRDP

between RAP and BIRDP

works by NHBA.

synchronized with RAP

- coordination with BIRDP.

ANNEX III: KEY FILE

Table 1: Rural Poverty and Agricultural/Rural Sector Issues

Priority Areas

Affected Group

Major Issues

Actions Needed

Weak and deteriorating road

Poor rural HHs living in

• Isolated areas during the rainy

• Improve accessibility for rural population during the rainy season

network due to limited budget,

Butana

seasons

• Improve road maintenance

engineering capacity and

Vehicle operators

• Higher cost of transportation

• Build public sector capacity in road construction planning and

limited

attention

Traders

• High vehicle operating costs

management.

preventative maintenance

• Poor maintenance of rural roads

High transport and transaction

Poor rural farmers

• High road tariffs applied on

• Reduce transport costs

costs in the movement of

roads during the rainy season

• Increase livestock sales

agricultural products during the

• High cost of livestock movement

• Increase agricultural productivity and access to higher farm gate

rainy season

in the rainy season

prices

• Low farm gate prices

• Improve access to agricultural and livestock markets

Women specific issues:

Women

Limited economic activities for

• Awareness campaign to promote girls’ education.

Limited economic activity.

women.

• Improve access to primary health services and schools.

Poor access to basic health

Difficulty in accessing basic health

• Train women in vocational skills and income generating activities.

and education services (distance,

• Increase women access to market places

services and education

absence

means

• Reduce transport time and cost.

transportation).

•

Table 2: ORGANISATION CAPABILITIES MATRIX

Organisation

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities/Threats

Remarks

Enablers

National Highways and

• National coverage:

7 regional

• NHBA can develop state

Bridges Authority (NHBA)

offices

- NHBA receives only 10% of the

technical capacity in road

Under Ministry of Roads

• Cumulates responsibilities of

tolls collected, the rest goes to

planning, design, supervision

and Bridges

studies, design, construction using

the Ministry of Finance

and maintenance.

its own equipment, supervision of

• NHBA can also act as a

works,

management

and

champion for the project

maintenance.

approach and its replication to

• Provide design and supervision

other states

services on demand to States

• Technical capacity is satisfactory.

• Toll collections constitute its main

revenues.

•

State Ministry of Physical

• Has a Road Dept. responsible for

• Very limited funds to attract

• The

Agriculture

Revival

• Limited

budgetary

Planning and Public

survey and supervision of road

qualified staff

Programme has allocated

allocation to ARP at

Utilities (MPPPU)

works.

• Limited design capacity

approx 7.5% of its total budget

national level

• Developing special packages for

• Weak technical capacity

to rural infrastructure inclusive of

• Policies for road sector

experienced engineers to draw

• Limited supervision capacity

agricultural roads. This is a good

exist only for national

them from the private sector

• Few

experienced

staff

opportunity to build needed

roads in terms of

capacity in this sector, as well

construction,

available;

as expand the network of

management

and

• Inadequate quality control

agricultural roads.

maintenance;

• Dependent on NHBA for

• Roads that are not of

feasibility and design study

national importance are

• Maintenance

not

delegated to the States

undertaken for State roads as

no maintenance dept. exists at

•

State or locality level

Agriculture

Revival

• Chaired by the Fed. Minister of

• Absence of a planning

• Opportunity: Potential for the

Programme

(ARP) Rural

Irrigation and Water Resources

framework

for

the

rural

infrastructure

working

Infrastructure

Working

and includes the NHBA;

identification, prioritization and

group to act as champion for a

group

• 25% of ARP programme allocated

maintenance of the rural road

planned

and

integrated

to rainfed agriculture and 7.5 % to

network in proposed states.

construction/

maintenance

rural

infrastructures

including

• The road programme under

approach to the rural road

roads;

ARP does not foresee

network.

• The construction of the ARP

capacity building of the

financed

roads

are

now

MPPPUs.

• Budgetary restrictions due to

supervised by NHBA

decreased oil prices may limit

funding of the ARP road

programme.

Butana Development

Recently established (in 2007)

- Organization is recently

Synchronize interventions in

Agency (BDA)

by Presidential decree

established.

market development with the

Coordinate inter-state

- absence of a rural road

activities of rural roads

development efforts and covers

engineer among its current staff.

improvement.

10 localities in 5 States

The BDA represents a good

Fund mobilization is part of its

organizational framework for

mandate, as well as

inter-state collaboration.

strengthening the stakeholders’

organizations for the regulated

access and use of natural

resources.

Familiar with IFAD and

Government financial and

procurement guidelines and

procedures.

Service Providers

Road contractors

• Wide range of national contractors

• Experienced road engineers

• Opportunity: Greater efficiency

prepared to undertake rural roads

mostly based in Khartoum and

in road construction thanks to

construction.

few of them available at state

funding availability

• NHBA has qualified 45 companies

level.

• Threat: Non competitive market

as grade A in terms of technical

• Increased

reliance

for the recruitment of contractors

and financial capacities.

contractors on self-financing

• Experienced

national

road

which increases the total cost

engineering staff available in the

of construction and limits state

private sector.

supervision.

•

Client Organisations

The Association for

the

• Federation of

31 community

• The executive board has

• Opportunity: the association can

• Communities

located

Development of Central

based organizations;

outlived its term;

play a role in community

along the proposed road

Butana

• Received technical support from

• No audit of account effected;

mobilization

for

road

alignment

have

UNDP;

• Infrequent general assembly

maintenance; and the process

community organizations

• Has capital and financial assets

meetings.

for

establishing the apex

and are member of this

• Put in place a entrepreneurial

organization can be adapted for

apex organization.

management approach

the establishment of the

• 4 members of the

community road fund.

executive board of the

• Contracts out work and services to

the private sector and member

community organization

community based organizations

are from the villages

situated along the road

alignment.

Table 3: COMPLEMENTARY DONOR INITIATIVE/PARTNERSHIP POTENTIAL

Complementarity/

Donor/Agency

Nature Of Project/Programme

Project/Programme Coverage

Status

Synergy Potential

IFAD

• Butana Integrated Rural

• The Butana rainy season grazing ground

• On-going

- Complements resources available under the

Development Project

which covers 10 localities in 5 states.

• Completion date:

marketing component of the BIRDP and

• BIRDP provides support to communities

30 September

increases resources dedicated to rural

to manage rangelands and water

2016

infrastructure in Butana.

sources in a sustainable manner; access

- Facilitates mobility during the wet season and

extension services and veterinary care;

this is expected to reflect positively on the trade

access markets on better terms; and

links between Butana. New Halfa and Gedaref,

engage in value adding activities

on livestock sales prices, and on better access

(example dairy activities); organize

to services (especially health and education).

collectively to manage productive

activities.

• BIRDP provides support to states and

localities in regulating access to

rangelands, in strategically planning

water resources, in facilitating outreach

to communities and in improving the

management of markets.

• Sudan Productive Capacity

• South Kordofan State

• On-going

- Exchange of knowledge on : procurement;

Recovery Programme - Model

• Construction of the Kadugli-Talodi road

capacity building; road maintenance

project

arrangements; and community participation in

construction and maintenance works; M&E

system.

- Joint development of a governance framework.

• Eastern Sudan Recovery and

• State of Red Sea, Kassala and Gadaref

• In start-up phase;

The Butana area is not covered by this project.

Development Project

• Supports the Eastern Sudan Peace

duration 3 years

However the project management team (Mott

Agreement with quick impact activities

McDonald) has experience in the spot

implemented by line ministries, localities

improvement approach and can be a good

and NGOs. Sectoral focus on:

source of knowledge.

agriculture, water, land development and

vocational training

Government of

• Agriculture Revival Programme

• States of Gedaref, Gezira, Sennar, Blue

• On-going

- Project assumes that the capital investments

National Unity

- rural infrastructure

Nile, White Nile, South Kordofan and

• Completion: 2011

for the state of Gedaref would take place

component

South Darfur

especially for roads currently under construction.

• Construction of new roads. Likely

- Project approach to be replicated by the

reliance on contractor pre-financing for

MPPPU to the prioritization, planning and

their execution which would increase

preventative maintenance of other state level

costs by 30%.

rural roads.

Table 4: TARGET GROUP PRIORITY NEEDS AND PROJECT PROPOSALS

Typology

Poverty Levels And Causes

Coping Actions

Priority Needs

Project Response

Poor Households with

- No ownership of livestock or ownership

- Reliance on ad hoc charity and

- Restocking.

Better access to markets esp. in

less than 10 heads of

does not exceed 10 heads of small

wage labour.

- Basic services, incl. water.

the rainy season.

small ruminants

ruminants.

- Benefit from community

Reduced transport cost.

- Receive livestock for herding or milking.

solidarity for access to water in

Improved water accessibility and

- Cultivate up to 5 feddans of sorghum

the dry season.

range carrying capacity.

because of labour limitations

Increase women mobility and

- Have no access to mechanized land

facilitate access to market

preparation

Facilitate access to services, in

- Rely on wage labour and charity from

particular health services an

kinship members.

schools.

- Women employed in milking small

ruminants, cultivation tasks when fields are

near, and income generating activities such

as mat weaving.

- No children enrolled in schools.

- Full time residents in Butana, and settled in

villages and farigs.

Average Households

- Seasonal wage labour for men.

- Water and basic services.

Better access to markets esp. in

with ownership of

- Cultivate up to 50 feddans of rainfed

- Move to better pastures in the

- Access to markets

the rainy season.

livestock about 30

sorghum with mechanized assistance for

rainy and dry season.

Reduced transport cost.

small ruminants and 10

initial ploughing.

- Sale of livestock.

Improved water accessibility and

heads of cattle/ camels

- Seasonal wage labour for men in nearby

range carrying capacity.

irrigated schemes or through migration to

Increase women mobility and

Saudi Arabia (where the men usually work

facilitate access to market

as herders).

Facilitate access to services, in

- Women involved in milking small

particular health services an

ruminants, processing milk into ghee and

schools.

yogurt, weeding and harvesting of crops

when fields near to the house.

- Bi-local residents with houses in the center

and periphery of Butana.

Well-off Households

- Cultivate approximately 250 fed of rainfed

- Access to low cost feed

Better access to markets esp. in

with ownership of large

agriculture. They have access to

resources.

the rainy season.

herds approximately

mechanization.

- Access to markets.

Reduced transport cost.

100 to 300 heads of

- Have access to irrigated and mechanized

Improved water accessibility and

small and large

farms that they cultivate through

range carrying capacity.

animals.

sharecropping.

Increase women mobility and

- Have access to trucks to transport animals

facilitate access to market

to better pastures and tankers to transport

Facilitate access to services, in

Table 5: STAKEHOLDER MATRIX/PROJECT ACTORS AND ROLES

Potential Contractors/

Other Possible

Component

Sub-Component

Coverage

Perennial Institutions Involved

Periodic Inputs

Partners in Execution

Physical rehabilitation

Rehabilitation and construction of

- Arab 6-Es Subagh

- State Ministry of Physical

Private contractors

Communities

and construction of

feeder roads in Butana area

- Es Subagh - Husheib

Planning and Public Utilities

organized in road

feeder roads

- Butana Development Agency

committees

Implementation of conservation and

- Arab 6-Es Subagh

- State Ministry of Physical

Private sector and the

water control works along selected

- Es Subagh - Husheib

Planning and Public Utilities

state ministry of

feeder roads

- BDA

agriculture

Community Road Fund

Communities serviced

BDA, localities, road

Private sector for

by Arab 6-Es Subagh -

committees, Road

maintenance works when

Husheib

Departments of the MPPPUs

applicable

Capacity Building and

Training of Communities on soil and

Communities serviced

BDA

Private consultancy firms

Institutional

water conservation and management

by Arab 6-Es Subagh -

and NGOs

Development

of labour based contracts

Husheib

Institution development and training

Gadaref and Kassala

- State Ministry of Physical

Private consultancy firms

NHBA

for the Road Dept of the MPPPUs in

States

Planning and Public Utilities

and NGOs for training,

Gadaref and Kassala States

- BDA

technical assistance and

studies

Project Management

- Recruitment of consultancy firm in

Butana

- Butana Development Agency

Private consultancy firms

ARP working group

BDA

- NHBA

and individual consultants

for rural infrastructure

- Set up and operation of the project

M&E

- Collaboration with the NHBA in

monitoring of project

- Coordination with BIRDP

Summary Cost Table 2: Expenditures Accounts Project Cost Summary

% Total

Expenditure Accounts Project Cost Summary

(SDP Million)

(US$ Million)

Foreign

Base

Local

Foreign

Total

Local

Foreign

Total

Exchange

Costs

I. Investment Costs

A. Civil Works

17.93

7.68

25.61

7.17

3.07

10.24

B. Vehicles and Equipment

Vehicles

0.16

0.20

0.36

0.06

0.08

0.14

Materials and Equipment

0.06

0.32

0.38

0.02

0.13

0.15

Subtotal

0.21

0.52

0.74

0.09

0.21

0.29

C. Technical Assistance and Training

International Technical Assistance

1.43

0.57

100

National Technical Assistance

2.49

0.99

Training

0.86

0.35

Studies

0.63

0.25

Subtotal

3.98

1.43

5.41

1.59

0.57

2.16

Total Investment Costs

22.12

9.63

31.75

8.85

3.85

12.70

II. Recurrent Costs

A. Field Allowances

0.41

0.16

B. Operational Costs

0.40

0.17

0.57

0.16

0.07

0.23

C. Road Maintenance Fund

0.65

0.26

Total Recurrent Costs

1.46

0.17

1.63

0.58

0.07

0.65

Total BASELINE COSTS

23.58

9.80

33.38

9.43

3.92

13.35

100

Physical Contingencies

1.79

0.77

2.56

0.72

0.31

1.02

Price Contingencies

4.87

1.88

6.76

0.42

0.16

0.59

Total PROJECT COSTS

30.24

12.46

42.70

10.57

4.39

14.96

112

Summary Cost Table 4: Expenditure Accounts by Components - Base Costs

Physical

Expenditure Accounts by Components - Base Costs

Rehabilitation

Capacity

(US$ Million)

and

Building and

Physical

Construction

Institutional

Project

Contingencies

of Rural Roads

Development

Management

Total

Amount

I. Investment Costs

A. Civil Works

10.19

0.05

10.24

10.0

1.02

B. Vehicles and Equipment

Vehicles

0.14

Materials and Equipment

0.15

Subtotal

0.29

C. Technical Assistance and Training

International Technical Assistance

0.57

National Technical Assistance

0.71

0.28

0.99

Training

0.29

0.06

0.35

Studies

0.25

Subtotal

0.25

1.57

0.34

2.16

Total Investment Costs

10.44

1.92

0.34

12.70

8.1

1.02

II. Recurrent Costs

A. Field Allowances

0.16

B. Operational Costs

0.17

0.06

0.23

C. Road Maintenance Fund

0.26

Total Recurrent Costs

0.26

0.33

0.06

0.65

Total BASELINE COSTS

10.71

2.25

0.40

13.35

7.7

1.02

Physical Contingencies

1.02

0.01

1.02

Price Contingencies

Inflation

Local

1.49

0.28

0.09

1.86

Foreign

0.14

0.03

0.00

0.16

Subtotal Inflation

1.63

0.30

0.09

2.02

Devaluation

-1.15

-0.22

-0.07

-1.43

Subtotal Price Contingencies

0.48

0.09

0.02

0.59

7.1

0.04

Total PROJECT COSTS

12.21

2.34

0.42

14.96

7.1

1.07

Taxes

1.79

0.12

0.01

1.92

8.3

0.16

Foreign Exchange

3.50

0.87

0.02

4.39

7.3

0.32

Summary Cost Table 5: Components by Financiers

Components by Financiers

Local

(US$ Million)

The Government

IFAD

Beneficiaries

Total

For.

(Excl. Duties &

Amount

% Amount

% Exch. Taxes) Taxes

1. Physical Rehabilitation and Construction of Rural Roads /a

1.79

14.7

10.33

84.6

0.09

0.7

12.21

81.6

3.50

6.91

1.79

2. Capacity Building and Institutional Development

0.12

5.2

2.22

94.8

2.34

15.6

0.87

1.34

0.12

3. Project Management

0.01

2.3

0.41

97.7

0.42

2.8

0.02

0.39

0.01

Total PROJECT COSTS

1.92

12.9

12.95

86.6

0.09

0.6

14.96

100.0

4.39

8.65

1.92

_________________________________

\a 10% Contingencies estimated for civil works

Summary Cost Table 6: Procurement Arrangements

Rural Access Project

Procurement Method

Procurement Arrangements

Community

(US$ Million)

International

National

Consulting

Participation

Competitive Competitive

Services:

Local

Direct

Bidding

QCBS

Shopping

Contracting

Procurement

N.B.F.

Total

A. Civil Works /a

11.7

(10.0)

B. Vehicles, equipment and materials

0.3

(0.2)

C. Technical Assistance and Training

0.6

1.1

0.6

2.3

(0.6)

(1.1)

(0.6)

(2.3)

D. Maintenance Fund

0.3

(0.1)

E. Recurrent Costs

0.4

(0.4)

Total

0.8

11.7

1.1

0.4

0.6

0.3

15.0

(0.8)

(10.0)

(1.1)

(0.4)

(0.6)

(0.1)

(13.0)

_________________________________

Note: Figures in parenthesis are the respective amounts financed by IFAD

\a Encouraged to form ventures with international consulting firms

Summary Cost Table 8: Expenditure Accounts by Financier

Expenditure Accounts by Financiers

Local

(US$ Million)

The Government

IFAD

Beneficiaries

Total

For.

(Excl.

Duties &

Amount

Exch.

Taxes)

Taxes

I. Investment Costs

A. Civil Works

1.76

15.0

9.97

85.0

11.73

78.4

3.52

6.45

1.76

B. Vehicles and Equipment

Vehicles

0.06

44.0

0.08

56.0

0.15

1.0

0.08

0.06

Materials and Equipment

0.02

15.0

0.13

85.0

0.15

1.0

0.13

0.02

Subtotal

0.09

29.1

0.21

70.9

0.30

2.0

0.21

0.09

C. Technical Assistance and Training

International Technical Assistance

0.59

100.0

0.59

4.0

0.59

National Technical Assistance

1.04

100.0

1.04

7.0

1.04

Training

0.36

100.0

0.36

2.4

0.36

Studies

0.26

100.0

0.26

1.7

0.26

Subtotal

2.25

100.0

2.25

15.0

0.59

1.66

Total Investment Costs

1.85

12.9

12.43

87.1

14.27

95.4

4.32

8.11

1.85

II. Recurrent Costs

A. Field Allowances

0.17

100.0

0.17

1.2

0.17

B. Operational Costs

0.04

15.0

0.20

85.0

0.24

1.6

0.07

0.13

0.04

C. Road Maintenance Fund

0.04

15.0

0.15

53.4

0.09

31.6

0.28

1.9

0.24

0.04

Total Recurrent Costs

0.08

11.2

0.52

76.0

0.09

12.8

0.69

4.6

0.07

0.54

0.08

Total PROJECT COSTS

1.92

12.9

12.95

86.6

0.09

0.6

14.96

100.0

4.39

8.65

1.92

Detailed Cost Table: Component 1

Detailed Costs

(US$)

Quantities

Base Cost ('000)

Unit

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

Unit Cost

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

I. Investment Costs

A. Civil Works - Road Development

1. Arab 6 to Es Subagh

a. Road Formation

Arab 6 Village to Es Sadda (a) /a

Lumpsum

0.7

0.3

2.378.088,0

1 665

713

2 378

Arab 6 village to Es Sadda (b) /b

Lumpsum

702.626,0

703

Es Sadda to Es Subagh

Lumpsum

0.2

0.55

0.25

1.171.044,0

234

644

293

1 171

Subtotal

234

3 011

1 006

4 252

b. Grading and Drainage /c

Arab 6 village to Es Sadda (b) /d

Lumpsum

58.909,0

Es Sadda to Es Subagh

Lumpsum

0.2

0.55

0.25

98.182,0

Subtotal

113

157

c. Structures - culverts - routine

Arab 6 Village to Es Sadda (a) /e

Lumpsum

0.25

0.45

0.3

660.000,0

165

297

198

660

Arab 6 village to Es Sadda (b) /f

Lumpsum

360.000,0

360

Es Sadda to Es Subagh

Lumpsum

0.2

0.45

0.35

600.000,0

120

270

210

600

Subtotal

285

927

408

1 620

d. Structures - Special

Bridge at El Saada

Lumpsum

0.25

0.45

0.3

330.000,0

149

330

Wash at #16 - 15 metres wide

Lumpsum

18.000,0

Wash at # 52 - 30 metres wide

Lumpsum

72.000,0

Wash at #56 - 25 metres wide

Lumpsum

45.000,0

Subtotal

218

149

465

Subtotal

756

4 200

1 538

6 494

2. Es Subagh to Husheib

Formation of road

Lumpsum

0.2

0.5

0.3

1.756.566,0

351

878

527

1 757

Grading of road and drainage /g

Lumpsum

0.2

0.5

0.3

147.273,0

147

Structures - culverts - routine

Lumpsum

0.25

0.45

0.3

900.000,0

225

405

270

900

Structures special

Lumpsum

0.3

0.7

216.000,0

151

216

Subtotal

671

1 508

841

3 020

Subtotal

1 427

5 708

2 379

9 514

Detailed Costs

(US$)

Quantities

Base Cost ('000)

Unit

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

Unit Cost

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

B. Conservation and Water Control Works /h

Arab 6 to Es Subagh

Lumpsum

0.7

0.3

350.000,0

245

105

350

Es Soubagh to Husheib

Lumpsum

0.7

0.3

330.000,0

231

330

Subtotal

476

204

680

C. Studies

1. Studies

To support field activities for roads /i

Per annum

0.6

0.25

0.85

295.000,0

177

251

Total Investment Costs

1 604

6 258

2 583

10 444

Table 1. Physical Rehabilitation and Construction of Rural Roads

II. Recurrent Costs

A. Road Maintenance

Road maintenance /j

Lumpsum

262

Total Recurrent Costs

262

Total

1 604

6 329

2 678

10 706

_________________________________

\a Road Category d.3 see working paper 1

\b Road Category e.2 see working paper 1

\c For unsurfaced %

\d Road Category e.2 see working paper 2

\e Road Category d.3 see working paper 1

\f Road Category e.2 see working paper 1

\g For unsurfaced %

\h All catchments draining towards road structures will be treated using soil & water conservation measures

This is an income generating activity for the community

\i Provision of detailed studies

Yr. 1 includes retroactive financing for survey and design and pre-qualification of contractors and consultancy firms

\j Routine maintenance estimated at 1%% of road development from Yr 2

Component 2 Detailed Cost Table 2

Table 2. Capacity Building and Institutional Development

Detailed Costs

(US$)

Quantities

Base Cost ('000)

Unit

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

Unit Cost

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

I. Investment Costs

A. Civil Works Road Office

Rehabilitation of Roads and Works Building /a

number

50.000,0

B. Vehicles and Equipment Roads and Bridges

Office equipment /b

Lumpsum

110.500,0

111

4 WD double cabin pick-up /c

number

36.000,0

144

Subtotal

255

C. Training, Technical Assistance and Studies

1. Technical Assistance

a. Contracted Services /d

Team Leader /e

Per annum

0.33

0.47

0.2

572.000,0

189

269

114

572

Local Consulting Core Team /f

Per annum

0.35

0.37

0.27

0.01

262.600,0

263

Subtotal

281

366

185

835

b. Government Support Staff /g

Top up salaries and allowances

Per annum

0.25

452.000,0

113

452

Subtotal

394

479

298

116

1 287

2. Training

a. Training Material

Preparation/Revision of Training Modules Roads

Lumpsum

0.67

0.33

20.000,0

Preparation/Revision of Training Modules SWC

Lumpsum

0.34

0.66

20.000,0

Subtotal

b. Training for the Rural Roads /h

English Language /i

number

6.400,0

CAD and use of specialized software /j

number

4.260,0

Surveying /k

number

6.400,0

Construction Management and Supervision /l

number

6.400,0

Specifications and Procurement /m

number

6.400,0

Road design /n

number

6.400,0

Planning and Implementation of road maintenance /o

number

6.400,0

Subtotal

Table 2. Capacity Building and Institutional Development

Detailed Costs

(US$)

Quantities

Base Cost ('000)

Unit

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

Unit Cost

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

c. Training - Conservation and Water

Training of trainers /p

number

8.500,0

Conservation measures and water control structures /q

number

7.000,0

Implementation of labour based works TOT

number

7.000,0

Training of locality staff and CBOs

number

7.000,0

Community training

number

7.000,0

Subtotal

d. Workshops, Seminars, exchange in-country

National/Regional workshops and seminars

Lumpsum

Stakeholders workshops/seminars

Lumpsum

Inter-site community visits

Lumpsum

Study tours in-country

Lumpsum

Subtotal

e. Overseas training

Short course in Road planning, design & construction /r

number

15.000,0

Subtotal

102

132

325

Subtotal

495

611

363

142

1 612

Total Investment Costs

800

611

363

142

1 916

II. Recurrent Costs

A. Allowances

Field Allowances Senior Officials /s

Person days

360

1 440

10,0

Field allowances other staff /t

Person days

4 680

18 720

8,0

150

Subtotal

164

B. Operational Costs

Vehicle operation and maintenance /u

Lumpsum

144

Equipment maintenance /v

Lumpsum

Subtotal

166

Total Recurrent Costs

330

Total

882

694

446

225

2 247

Table 2. Capacity Building and Institutional Development

Detailed Costs

_________________________________

\a Gedareff

\b See working paper 1: Equipment to be provided to Department of Roads and Bridges

$71 000 Gedaref and $39 500 New Halfa

\c 3 Gedaref and 1 New Halfa

\d 30% overhead provided for in annual costs of consultants - both International and National

\e 2.5 year input based in Gedaref as part of core consulting team

\f Core team based in Gedaref see Calculation Tables - Full time Deputy Team Leader with other short term inputs from various specialists

\g See working paper 1: Department of Roads and Bridges; Road Maintenance units Gedaref and New Halfa

BDA Soil and Water Conservation Butana and Artbara

\h Includes training for contractors

\i 6 days for 15 people in Gedariff

\j 6 days for 10 people

\k 6 days for 15 people in Gedariff

\l 6 days for 15 people in Gedariff

\m 6 days for 15 people in Gedariff

\n 6 days for 15 people in Gedariff

\o 6 days for 15 people in Gedariff

\p Gedarif6 days x 20 persons

\q 15 persons x 6 days - includes cost of transportation from Gedariff of 1 vehicle

\r 3 month courses

\s 4 senior management at 10 days per month x 9 months

\t 26 days x 20 persons x 9 months - includes allowances for field staff and drivers

\u 25% of capital cost

\v 5 % of capital cost

Detailed Cost Table 3: Component 3

Table 3. Project Management

Detailed Costs

(US$)

Quantities

Base Cost ('000)

Unit

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

Unit Cost

2010

2011

2012

2013

Total

I. Investment Costs

A. Technical Assistance

1. Monitoring and Evaluation

CCU Contract

Per annum

Road and traffic survey

Study

15.000,0

Annual assessment

assessment

10.000,0

Planning workshops

event

5.000,0

Audit

Per annum

Mid-term Review

Lumpsum

Project Completion Report

Lumpsum

Subtotal

170

2. Monitoring by NHBA

Monitoring Missions

missions

5.000,0

Subtotal

230

B. Contracted Staff BDA

BDA staff overtime

Per annum

110

Total Investment Costs

100

340

II. Recurrent Costs

A. Operational Costs

Equipment maintenance

Per annum

Total Recurrent Costs

Total

115

100

400

ANNEX IV: ORGANIZATIONAL ORGANIGRAMME

General Manager Ministry of Planning and Public Utilities

General Manager Ministry of Planning and Public

(MPPPU) - GEDAREF STATE

Utilities

(MPPPU) KASSALA STATE

Links with Butana Development

Department of

Water

Department

Water

Authority for Natural Resources

Department

Electricity

Dept. of

Elect.

Consultants

Roads and

Supply

of Roads and

Supply

& Soil and Water Conservation

of Design

of Projects

Authority

Design

Projects

Auth.

Bridges (DRB)

Authority

Bridges

Auth.

Works

- Team Leader/

International

Construction/Management

National

- Design Engineer

Rural Roads

Urban Roads

Buildings

Rural Roads

Urban Roads

Buildings

- Structures

Support to Butana Development

Authority Roads Programme

- Hydrologist

- Training

Rural Road

- Procurement

Rural Road Maintenance

Construction

Maintenance

Links with State Ministry of

- Soil and Water

Conservation

Agriculture Irrigation

Other

Butana

Other Gedaref

Butana

Gedaref

Kassala

Roads

Engineer (1)

Surveyor (1)

Arab 6 to

Arab 6 to Es

Other Butana

IFAD Rural Access Project

Subagh to

Roads

Subagh

Roads

Husheib Roads

Road

Construction Engineer (1)

Design Engineer (1) - from design section

Surveyors (2)

Site Supervisors (2)

Notes:

1. Support to Roads and Bridges at Locality level is handled centrally by the State Roads and Bridges Department

2. At Locality level Water, Buildings, Electricity and Mechanical sections are all combined into one unit.

3. In Gedaref State, full support is being provided to DRB as most of the rural roads in Butana are in Gedaref State and also the DRB will be assisting and working with BRDP on their rural roads programme

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VI

ANNEX VI: RESULTS-BASED M&E

Introduction

1. This annex on Monitoring and Evaluation aims to provide an overall framework for the

implementation of the project monitoring. The M&E will be based on the principles of monitoring

the project results and impact. Project monitoring would form an integral part of the project

management system and would focus on project performance in terms of the inputs and outputs,

as well as project results in terms of impact and sustainability.

Implementation of the M&E

The BDA M&E Officer will be in charge of monitoring the RAP implementation. The M&E

system will be in line with the requirements of IFAD Results and Impact Management System (RIMS)

and the 1^st and 2^nd level indicators will be aligned to the extent possible. Unfortunately, it is worth

mentioning that in the RIMS, the performance of rural transport and travel activities funded by IFAD

are recorded only through the traditional single quantitative indicators mostly limited to the number of

kilometers of roads constructed or improved. Additional indicators will be included to monitor the

outcomes of the project in terms of quality, effectiveness and sustainability.

Result and Impact Management System (RIMS): IFAD has established a sample reporting

format to report on the 1^st and 2^nd level indicators associated with RIMS which will be part of the

project periodic reporting. First-level results correspond to the project activities. A sample reporting

format for reporting on first-level indicators is given in appendix 2. Second-level results will look at the

short and medium term changes (outcomes) caused by the implementation of the project activities

and outputs, and third level result will look at the long term effects of the project. The second-level

results are reported after mid-term review and are updated on an annual basis. In recognition of

IFAD’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the RIMS framework normally

includes two mandatory impact indicators: child malnutrition and household assets. The period

covered should be the same as in the AWP&B.

4. Lessons learnt on project M&E. Lessons learnt from closed and ongoing projects in Sudan can

be summarized as follows:

• Cross-cutting and thematic surveys/studies, especially those carried out in collaboration with

universities, have been a cost-effective and practical way to fill M&E information gaps and should

be replicated in the ongoing and future projects;

• The projects do not make effective use of the participatory M&E arrangements with respect to

data collection and reporting. Ongoing monitoring should be delegated to the beneficiaries as part

of a participatory M&E during the training of community organizations. To that effect, a data base

of the project beneficiaries should be established to facilitate ongoing monitoring and impact

studies. The community development committees would provide the required inputs for the data

base.

• It was noted that the project M&E systems lack standardized formats/forms for data collection and

reporting; Moreover, there is a top heavy organizational structure and unclear accountability for

M&E; and the implementation of the M&E system components is slow. It is therefore proposed

that start-up activities and the first year supervision allocate attention to the set-up of the M&E

system.

• The financial monitoring sub-system is not linked with the physical monitoring system at the

output level. This deficiency should be resolved by ensuring that inputs recorded in the system

are linked to output reporting so as to allow the project management to track project efficiency.

5. Based on the lessons learned stated above, the RAP M&E system will be geared to entrusting

data collection, reporting and analysis to the road committees at village level, the BDA

Development Team at locality level, the Roads Department of the MPPPU. The M&E officer in the

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VI

BDA will play the role of backstopping to these entities and will make ensure that the M&E for

both RAP and BIRDP are harmonized and consistent.

Input Monitoring

Key M&E activities will comprise the Project Implementation Manual, the baseline survey at

start-up stage, the AWPB, half-yearly data collection and reporting of activity and output targets and

achievements; annual impact assessment and evaluation, a mid-term review, and a Project

completion report. The activities will be guided by a number of fundamental considerations:

(a)

Data will be disaggregated by gender and youth, when applicable.

(b)

Each implementing or partner agency will have clear M&E responsibilities with specific

reporting deadlines and a forum for presenting and discussing the findings of the

monitoring exercise.

(c)

M&E will be linked to the project rationale, log frame, annual work plans and budgets and

the beneficiary assessments. The findings of the M&E will be used to take corrective or

enhancing measures at the level of project management.

In the case of the roads, the choice of results-based monitoring and evaluation indicators

should be very objective. There are two levels of monitoring and evaluation. There is on one hand the

immediate monitoring for efficient management of the road construction and on the other hand the

monitoring of the project performance and implementation progress. Indicators for efficient

management would concentrate on the quality of material and structures, on the length of road

completed according to specifications, on the time spent and the remaining period for completion of

works, the number and quality of the machinery on site, the number of teams working on the road, the

availability of material on site, the number and proficiency of the engineers in charge of the teams and

the quality of the camping facilities of the contractor as well as the welfare of the task workforce. This

will be reported upon by the BDA technical team in charge of the supervision of road works.

Indicators for performance monitoring. These indicators measure the extent the project

results and objectives are achieved. The socio-economic survey completed in July 2009 enabled the

design completion mission to set the performance benchmarks and targets as follows:

Indicators

Baseline

Target by project completion

Increased producers’ marketing margin

SDG 16/ sheep - gross

SDG 45/ sheep - gross margin

margin in rainy season

in rainy season

Increase in number of women trading in the

Approx 260 women⁶

1700 women

markets served by rural feeder roads.

Number of producers benefiting from improved

12 000 producers trade in

15 000 producers

market access; (RIMS).

town markets⁷

Increase in sale prices for livestock in rainy

SDG 130 to 175/ small

SDG

150 to

220

/ small

season

ruminant in Es Soubagh

ruminant in Gadaref and

and Rattaja

(accessible

Tamboul markets(thanks to

markets)

better access)

Decrease in transportation time in rainy season

2 days at Es Sadda

1 hour at Es Sadda crossing

crossing

Decrease in transportation tariff in rainy season

10 to

20 SDG/ trip Es

8 SDG/ trip Es Soubagh-New

Soubagh-New Halfa

Halfa

Increase in road traffic

(number and type of

140 vehicles on the Es

20% increase in traffic during

vehicles) in rainy season (July-Sep).

Soubagh - Es Sadda road

rainy

season on both

50 vehicles on the Es

alignments

Soubagh - Husheib road

Community road fund annual disbursements

Not existing

USD 95 000 to cover 100% of

maintenance costs

Infrastructure development plans exist at state

Not existing

Rural roads plan available

⁶ The figure is derived from 4 women traders by village for 26 villages, and approx 150 women in Es Soubagh

market in rainy season and 10 women in the Arab 6.

⁷ This is an extrapolation of the result obtained in the CCI study of 2006 whereby 78% of communities in Butana

sell their produce and buy their household needs at town markets.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VI

level.

State budget allocation for infrastructure based

Ad hoc

Budgetary allocation in line

on the development plan.

with plan

Spot improvement approach mainstreamed in

Technical specifications

Technical specifications for

the ARP

for gravel and paved

spot improvement adopted

roads

Capacity building of MPPPUs mainstreamed in

No training allocation in

Training budget provided to

ARP

ARP for the MPPPUs

MPPPUs.

Community Road Fund expanded to other rural

None in existence

Geographic scope of the CRF

road networks in Kassala and Gadaref.

expanded to new localities

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation. The project will establish procedures to enable

the communities to participate in the planning and maintenance of the rural roads and to provide

feedback from the project beneficiaries on the relevance and effectiveness of the project activities.

The BDA will organize - through the locality development teams - this participatory assessment on an

annual basis, as part of the review of the annual achievements of the community development plans

and of the planning for the following year. The results of this participatory M&E will inform the planning

and organization of the road maintenance works.

Management Information System (MIS)

10.

A strong project management information system (MIS) is required to keep records and

capture physical progress made by the project. It will be developed to incorporate the monitoring

requirements and integrate data collected.

11.

The above mentioned 2^nd level indicators will be measured as a result of traffic and road

surveys.

12.

The management information system (MIS) developed for the RAP will allow generating the

following reports:

•

Annual work plan and budgets (AWPBs), where the establishment of performance

benchmarks relies on AWPB targets. The AWPB for the RAP will indicate the

areas of synchronizaton and synergy with the BIRDP;

•

Six-monthly physical progress reporting, against output targets. The progress

report will also indicate how the implementation of the RAP is actually

synchronised with the marketing activities of BIRDP.

•

Six-monthly financial reporting against expenditure forecasts and regular financial

statements by the BDA.;

•

RIMS year-end report.

Impact Evaluation

13.

In conformity with the RIMS requirements, the design of the evaluation system will focus on

analysing the impact of the improved road accessibility on the wellbeing and living standards of the

poor, in line with the MDG objectives, and is based on both quantitative and qualitative information.

Particular emphasis will be given to assessing the impact of the project on women. The evaluation

design will cover the key anchor indicators established under the RIMS system for all projects,

namely:

Number of households with improvements in households assets ownership index;

Reduction in prevalence of child malnutrition under 5

14.

Evaluation of the project’s impact will comprise among other things:

•

RIMS Survey

•

Baseline Survey.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VI

•

Mid-term review.

•

Project Completion Report (PCR).

15.

Baseline Studies: The scope of work of the RAP baseline study needs to take into

consideration the scope of work for the BIRDP baseline study which covers production and marketing

issues. Based on data currently available from the socio-economic survey completed in July 2009 for

the RAP design completion mission, data on the following indicators is required as they are deemed

necessary to establish the reference levels for the investments planned in terms of rural access

roads:

• the level of accessibility in the project area such as the measurement of road density in terms of

population (km/ 1,000 people) or land area (km/1,000 km2).

• the travel time on existing road network.

• the % of road network in good and fair condition.

• the vehicle operating costs in the dry and rainy season.

• the present crop and livestock production around each road link, particularly with regards crop

and dairy production (livestock production and sale was already included in the socio-economic

survey).

16.

A consultancy firm with experience in this domain will be recruited to carry out the traffic

survey as well as the socio-economic and anthropometric survey, at baseline, mid-term and

completion of the project. As the baseline and anthropometric surveys have not yet started for BIRDP,

it is proposed that the scope of work of the BIRDP baseline study be adjusted to incorporate the

indicators mentioned above. The results of the baseline survey will need to be disaggregated by

geographic area so that baseline information is provided for the RAP project area.

17.

Mid-term review. The mid-term review is scheduled at the end of the second year of project

implementation, at which time the construction of the rural road should be nearly completed. The mid-

term review will assess project effectiveness and efficiency, synergy and synchronization with BIRDP,

and whether the project has achieved the milestones for sustainability. The MTR will carry out a

comparative analysis of the conventional and spot improvement approaches to road construction. The

results of the mid-term review will be used to guide decisions about project continuation and about

adjustments to implementation in order to increase project effectiveness and sustainability.

18.

Project completion report. The BDA will prepare a project completion report to be submitted

by the project completion date. The project completion report will rely on 3 studies, the RIMS survey,

the traffic survey and the project impact study, to assess project effectiveness and sustainability as

well as its replicability. These socio-economic surveys should give special attention to poverty status

of targeted communities and they should also examine the effectiveness of the road committees, the

community road fund (CRF) and the role of women in these social structures. The project innovation

with regards the community road fund will be documented in terms of the procedures followed, the

results achieved and the lessons learned, as well as its replication to new road alignments within the

two states or within other states. The project completion report will also have a dedicated section to

the comparative analysis between the conventional and spot improvement approach to road

construction and the replicability of the spot improvement approach.

19.

The socio-economic surveys and the statistical data should be used for comparative analysis

of the before and after road construction. Reporting should be very regular in timing and care should

be taken to compare the status of households (same households, if possible) with and without road

improvements.

M&E Organization and Staffing

20.

Organization. The M&E system of the RAP will have 3 main levels as follows:

The community level,

- The road committees will be responsible for community participation in the

supervision of design works, supervision of maintenance works and

implementation of maintenance works as well as raising the awareness of

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VI

community members about payments of road tolls and market fees. The road

committees will be responsible for the collection of community specific data

particularly with regards the training and labor days for soil and water

conservation and maintenance works and submission of this data to the BDA

development team based at locality level.

The locality level,

The 2 locality based BDA development teams that cover Butana and River

Atbara localities are a multi-disciplinary team responsible for community

mobilization, organization, training in natural resources management,

agriculture, soil and water conservation, livestock husbandry and veterinary care

as well as other productive skills. The development teams will be responsible for

consolidating the data from the road committees, monitoring higher level

indicators related to the project outcomes. The development team will submit

their monitoring reports to the M&E officer of the BDA.

The localities will report on the share of proceeds from the road tolls and market

fees paid to the CRF.

The state level,

The 2 Road Department of the MPPPUs in Gadaref and Kassala States will be

responsible for monitoring and reporting on the physical progress of the road

and on the activities and results under the capacity building activities. The Road

Departments will submit their reports to the M&E Officer of the BDA through the

Director Generals of the MPPPUs.

The M&E Officer of the BDA will be responsible for setting up the data collection/

analysis/ reporting system at community, locality and state levels and ensuring

that the teams at all levels are well trained to carry out project monitoring. The

M&E Officer of the BDA will be responsible for monitoring the impact

achievement of the project as well as its replication potential.

21.

Staffing. The road committee will assign one of its members to report on the activities of the

road committee and on the benefits accruing to the communities from road upgrading. The

development team will assign the community development officer to collect the required data and

prepare the progress report accordingly. The locality will assign its finance manager to report on

proceeds from road tolls and market fees and the share paid to the CRF. The Directors of the road

Departments will be responsible for compiling the data and reporting on the progress of the rural road

construction and on the progress in training their staff. The Senior M&E Officer and his/ her assistant

in the BDA will be responsible for setting up the RAP M&E system, training the various partners on

their roles and reporting duties, and conducting the impact assessments with the assistance of

consultancy firms namely for carrying out the traffic survey.

22.

Budget. Budget provisions were made for the baseline survey, annual assessments, periodic

traffic surveys, the mid term review and the completion assessment. The monitoring missions carried

out by the NHBA were also budgeted.

23.

Planning. The development of the annual work plan and budget of the RAP will be a

collaborative endeavour involving the M&E officers of the BDA, the Directors of the Road Department

of the MPPPUs in Kassala and Gadaref and the localities. The annual work plan will specify the

length of roads to be improved and maintained, the mobilization of maintenance funds in the CRF and

the training efforts required during the year. The AWPB will be submitted to the BDA Board of

Directors for endorsement then submitted to IFAD for no objection. The AWPB will address

shortcomings and build on achievements reported by the project M&E.

APPENDIX 1: Draft Matrix for Results Monitoring and Evaluation

Impact Indicators

Baseline

Data Collection and Reporting

Frequency and Reports

Data Collection

Responsibility for

data collection

Reduction in the prevalence of

TBD RIMS

Project Completion Report

Anthropometric Survey

BDA

malnutrition in children under 5

survey

to be prepared in year 4

No. of households with

TBD RIMS

As above

Household asset index

BDA

improvement in household asset

survey

000

questionnaire

index

Increase of rural incomes from

TBD BIRDP

800

As above

Impact survey

BDA

500_/ capita to USD 800/ capita

baseline

•

survey

Outcome Indicators

Data Collection and Reporting

Baseline

PY 4

Frequency and

Data Collection

Responsibility for

Reports

Instruments

Data Collection

Increased producers’ gross

SDG/

Project progress reports,

Annual assessment

BDA Development

margins from livestock and dairy

head

MTR and PCR

team

sale in rainy season

sheep (to be

confirmed by

BIRDP

baseline)

Increased number of women

approx

260

1700

Project progress reports,

Annual assessment

BDA Development

trading in markets

women

MTR and PCR

Team

Number of km improved

MPPPU

Project progress reports,

Annual assessments

Road Dept of MPPPU

physical

MTR and PCR

survey

Number of producers benefiting

TBD BIRDP

15000

Project progress reports,

Annual assessment

BDA Development

from improved market access

baseline

MTR and PCR

team

and

road

committees

Outcome Indicators

Data Collection and Reporting

Baseline

PY 4

Frequency and

Data Collection

Responsibility for

Reports

Instruments

Data Collection

Increase in sale price of

130-175/

150-

Project

progress

Annual assessment

BDA Development

livestock in rainy season

head, small

220

reports, MTR and PCR

team and road

ruminant

committee

Decrease in transport time

2 days at

Project

progress

Annual assessment

BDA Development

and tariff in rainy season

Es Sadda

hour

reports, MTR and PCR

team and road

committee

Increase in road traffic

140 vehicles

20%

PCR

Traffic survey

BDA - M&E Officer

on the Es

increa-

Soubagh - Es

Sadda road

50 vehicles on

the Es

Soubagh -

Husheib road

Number of km maintained

None

110

144

Project

progress

Annual assessment

CRF and Road

reports, MTR and PCR

Dept of MPPPU

Community Road Fund

Project

progress

Financial statements and

CRF

established and disbursing (in

reports, MTR and PCR

audit reports

‘000 USD)

CRF expanded to other rural

One

Project

progress

Annual assessment

BDA - M&E officer

road networks in Kassala and

reports, MTR and PCR

establi

Gadaref

-shed

Number of labour days by

Nil

10 000 total aggregate by

Project

progress

Annual assessment

Road committees

project end

gender and poverty group

reports, MTR and PCR

and

BDA

50% women, and 50% less

development

than 30 years

teams

Infrastructure

development plan

Project progress reports,

Annual assessment

Road Dept of MPPPU

exists at state level and budgetary

MTR and PCR

allocation aligned with the plan

Outcome Indicators

Data Collection and Reporting

Baseline

PY 4

Frequency and

Data Collection

Responsibility for

Reports

Instruments

Data Collection

Spot

improvement

approach

Posi

Project progress reports,

Annual assessment

Road Dept of MPPPU

replicated

tive

least

MTR and PCR

BDA - M&E Officer

eva-

200

lua-

tion

Activity Indicators for Each

Baseline

Frequency and Reports

Data Collection

Responsibility for

Component

Instruments

Data Collection

Component 1

Number of km constructed/

Desin works

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road Dept of MPPPU

rehabilitated

Number of conservation and

Design

To be determined

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road committees

water control works

works

BDA Development

team

Component 2

Number of road committees

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

BDA Development

trained

team

Number of committees with

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

BDA Development

women in leadership position

team

Number of members of road

To be assessed

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road committees

committees by gender

annually

Number of community members

400 by project end, 50%

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road committees

trained by gender

women and 50% below

30 years

Number of contracts established

To be assessed

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

CRF

with community groups

annually

Number of vehicles procured

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road Dept of MPPPU

Number of offices rehabilitated

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road Dept of MPPPU

and equipped

Number of government staff

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

Road Dept of MPPPU

deployed and trained

Component 3

Number of NHBA monitoring

Progress reports, MTR, PCR

Annual assessment

BDA - M&E Officer

visits

APPENDIX 2: RIMS FORM

FIRST LEVEL RESULTS

Period ending

31-Mar

Cumulative

Results

Unit

AWP&B Actual

% of AWPB Appraisal Actual % of Appraisal

Total Outreach

Households receiving project services

Number

#DIV/0!

15 000

People receiving project services

Male

#DIV/0!

TBD

#VALUE!

People receiving project services

Female

#DIV/0!

TBD

#VALUE!

Component

Sub Component

Component Name

Sub Component Name

#DIV/0!

1. Rural roads

Roads constructed

#DIV/0!

153

2. Capacity Building

Rural Roads Committees Groups managing infrastructure formed/strengthened

Number

#DIV/0!

Groups managing infrastructure with women in leadership position

Number

#DIV/0!

People in groups managing infrastructure formed/strengthened

Male

#DIV/0!

People in groups managing infrastructure formed/strengthened

Female

#DIV/0!

3. Project Management

Government officials and staff trained

#DIV/0!

People trained in infrastructure management

#DIV/0!

Staff of service providers trained

#DIV/0!

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

ANNEX VII: COMMUNITY ROAD FUND: THE OPERATING MODEL

I. Introduction

The RAP mission reviewed the performance of the rural and agricultural road sector.

Whereas the maintenance of the national road system is the responsibility of the National Highway

and Bridges Authority (NHBA), the responsibility for the maintenance of the rural and agricultural road

system lies with the State and locality governments. Indeed historically the opening of roads after the

end of the rainy season was the responsibility of the localities, although the financial allocations were

normally transferred from the national budget. Localities were allowed to collect local taxes, especially

from agricultural produce (known as Gibana and Ushur) though there were no road tolls per se. Over

time this responsibility was completely eroded and in most cases localities rarely give priority to the

maintenance activity during or after the rainy season. The localities especially in the heavy savannah

and black cotton zone (these soils correspond to those found in the RAP project area) used to own

heavy road machinery for spot repair and grading of roads. Only very recently did the State of

Gadaref arrange for the procurement of a limited number of road equipment and machinery for this

task. Kassala State depends primarily on heavy machinery under the control of the Ministry of

Irrigation and Water Resources and the Gash Agricultural Scheme.

Currently the Ministries of Physical Planning and Public Utilities (MPPPU) are in principle

responsible for both construction and maintenance of all state roads, whether rural, agricultural or

intercity roads. The general strategy of these ministries is to construct roads with higher standards,

essentially paved tarmac roads; to reduce the immediate and the future cost of maintenance of roads

and to meet the high political demand for paved roads. In reality, much of the roads were found to be

substandard because of the lack of expertise in road specifications, low quality of construction of

structures, lack of monitoring and supervision.

Under these conditions the RAP design completion mission concluded that new

arrangements need to be sought for the maintenance of the rural roads. In developing these new

arrangements, the design mission was guided by the existing set up for the management and

maintenance of water facilities in Butana. Indeed, the communities in Butana have experience with

the management and maintenance of drinking water facilities and historically these communities

operated a sophisticated system whereby the use of range resources was regulated through

investments in water points.

The main elements of the management and maintenance of water facilities that can be of use

to the road maintenance are: fees are set based on users’ willingness to pay and on the opportunity

cost of the service; the levy of fees is under the management of the communities; there is a clear

division of roles between the communities and the localities; the communities pay the localities a

share of proceeds in exchange of which the locality carries out the large repair works.

The maintenance arrangements proposed in this annex were developed jointly with the

locality executive staff and in consultation with the communities, vehicle operators and market agents.

The design completion mission is proposing here a process that can be fine tuned based on the level

of the locality and community participation.

II. Conceptual Framework

Financing maintenance works. The main sources of financing for the maintenance will be

the road tolls with toll stations established in strategic locations along the improved road, and market

fees levied from the main markets serviced by the road i.e. Um Al Gora, New Halfa, Es Soubagh,

Gadaref, and Tamboul.

The socio-economic survey completed in July 2009 ran scenarios for the levy of road tolls and

market fees and concluded that the proceeds would largely cover the annual maintenance

requirements of the road estimated at USD 95 000 or SDG 238 000 at full completion of the road. The

results of the simulations are as follows:

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

Table 1: Total Expected Revenue for Maintenance, in SDG

Revenue

from

Years

from

toll

from sale

Total

vehicles

stations

livestock

markets

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

318360

150701.6

254769

723830.6

2014

397950

158236.7

267507

823694.1

2015

497438

166148.5

280883

944469.3

2016

512361

174455.9

294927

981743.9

2017

527732

183178.7

309673

1020584

2018

543564

192337.7

325157

1061059

2019

559870

201954.5

341415

1103239

2020

576666

212052.3

358486

1147204

2021

593967

222654.9

376410

1193032

2022

611785

233787.6

395230

1240803

2023

630138

245477

414992

1290607

2024

649043

257750.8

435741

1342535

2025

668515

270638.4

457529

1396682

2026

688570

284170.3

480405

1453145

2027

709227

298378.8

504425

1512031

The assumptions for these calculations are based on users’ willingness to pay as well as the

expected road traffic and livestock trade as follows:

• The suggested fees on transport vehicles are 7 SDG for heavy truck, 7 SDG for lorry, 6 SDG

for minibus and 5 SDG for pickups.

• Collection of fees from animals sold at official markets. The recommended animal rates are 1

SDG for sheep and goats, 2 SDG for cattle, horse and donkey, 3 SDG for camel. This is over

and above the animal sale tax already charged on animals sold in the market⁸.

Collection of fees from all vehicles entering the markets at Es-Soubagh, Halfa and Um Al

Gora. The suggested fee is 10 SDG for heavy truck, 7 SDG for lorry, 6 SDG for half-trucks

and minibus and 5 SDG for pickups.

Users of the road will only be willing to pay the fees once the road construction is completed

and improved accessibility is satisfactory.

Future Demand will increase by 5% per year. with the road. The base figures are 140 vehicles

on Es Soubagh-Es Sadda road and 50 vehicles on the Es Soubagh-Husheib road.

Future passenger movement will increase by 6% with the road.

⁸ There are two methods of animal sales tax collection: locality staff collect directly and deposit in the collection

account. This method has a high cost and risk associated with its management and safety of funds. Secondly,

the localities chose, through a competitive bidding process, a private contractor who pays a specific bid price,

sometimes paid monthly on an advance basis. The contractor profit is any money above the contract price. This

has less managerial worries and possibly less evasion, real or induced. Market information is very difficult to

obtain in this system. Contractors will be reluctant to take responsibility for the collection of fees unless it is a pro-

rata estimation on top of the contract price because they would not like to disclose data and information. Although

the contract period is one or two years, contractors usually win the contract continuously, year after year.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

Agricultural productivity will increase by about 20% in the short term (1-2 years), 30% in the

medium term (3-6 years) and 50% in the long term (>6 years) through improved access to

markets.

On the basis of the assumptions and the simulations of the revenues earned from the road

tolls and market fees, the costs of the periodic and routine maintenance would be largely covered

through this financing mechanism. Furthermore, it would appear that the fees imposed on vehicles on

the road and in the market will be the principal source of the revenues for maintenance. This

preliminary calculation is useful in assessing the feasibility of a toll and fee system for the

maintenance of the road. More detailed analysis is required to determine the toll system in more detail

and it is suggested that IFAD recruits a specialist in this domain in 2010.

10.

Institutional set up. The Community Road Fund (CRF) is designed as a mechanism to

finance the preventative maintenance of the road. Schematically, it will be composed of an account

replenished by the revenues from the road tolls and market fees and of a committee that will decide

on how these revenues will be used for maintenance works. The committee will be established under

the Butana Development Agency and will have the following scope of work:

• Involve state government, localities and communities in the maintenance of rural roads, an

essential step for future sustainability;

• Establish practical modalities for financing routine and periodic road maintenance;

• Account for funds received for road maintenance;

• Plan on an annual basis the maintenance works required and contract these works to

community based organizations through labor based contracts or to private contractors as

applicable given the nature of the maintenance works;

• Promote communities and localities’ awareness and compliance with the payment of road

tolls and market fees.

10.

The Community Road Fund will be composed of 4 main parties: the communities serviced by

the road; the localities namely the Butana and River Atbara localities; the Road Departments of the

MPPPUs in Gadaref and Kassala; the Butana Development Agency. It is proposed that the

Community Road Fund be chaired alternately by the Commissioners of the Butana and River Atbara

localities or their designates. The Director and the Financial Manager of the BDA will act as secretary

of the committee.

11.

The roles of each party are clarified as follows:

− The communities. Village development committees active in the communities

serviced by the road will establish road committees. The road committees will have

the following responsibilities:

(i) raising awareness about the importance of road

maintenance and community contribution towards it; (ii) for communities where toll

stations are located, they will certify the toll station receipts on a daily basis and

report accordingly to the locality and the BDA; (iii) identify the road sites where

maintenance works are required;

(iv) supervise the maintenance works;

(v)

implementing labor based contracts for the maintenance of the road; (vi) monitor the

number of labor days by gender and socio-economic group. It is worth noting here

that village development committees are established in all the communities serviced

by the road and are registered as legal entities under the voluntary association law.

− The localities. Localities are empowered to impose and levy fees by virtue of

administrative decrees approved by the local councils. Their role will be primarily to:

(i) issue administrative decrees to levy road tolls and market fees; (ii) staff the toll

stations and monitor their performance; (iii) agree with the road committees on the

certification of the receipts of the road tolls; (iv) transfer the proceeds of the road tolls

and market fees to the CRF account held by the BDA.

− The Road Departments of the MPPPUs. The Road Departments by virtue of their

mandate are responsible for the maintenance of state roads. Their role will primarily

consist in: (i) survey the road and identify sites requiring maintenance in consultation

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

with the road committees; (ii) plan the maintenance works and prepare bills of

quantities and technical specifications accordingly;

(iii) contract the maintenance

works to communities or contractors based on the nature of works to be completed

and decision of the CRF; (iv) supervise the maintenance works and train the road

committees as needed.

− The Butana Development Agency. The main role of the BDA will be to: (i) hold the

proceeds of the road tolls and market fees in a dedicated CRF account and report on

the fund use on a regular basis to the road committees, localities, MPPPUs and the

BDA Board of Directors; (ii) disburse funds based on certified receipts of works

completed to communities and contractors; (iii) monitor community participation and

benefit from maintenance contracts, as well as community satisfaction with the rod

construction and maintenance.

12.

Definition of maintenance. The term maintenance encompasses

3 main types of

maintenance, routine maintenance, periodic maintenance and preventative maintenance. Routine

maintenance comprises a range of small scale and simple activities usually carried out at least once

a year but widely dispersed. Typical activities include roadside verge clearing and cutting back

encroaching vegetation, cleaning of silted ditches and culverts, patching and pothole repair, and light

grading/reshaping of unsealed surfaces. This type of maintenance is suitable for unskilled/skilled

labour based methods supported by light equipment. Periodic maintenance occurs less frequently

usually after one to two years of operation, depending on the type and quality of road. Works can

include grading and reforming of longer lengths of road, regravelling, reshaping of drainage lines,

bunds and erosion control works and repairs to structures. It will require both equipment and skilled

resources/operators and also some activities similar to those under routine maintenance. Such works

can be undertaken by unskilled and skilled labour based methods supported by light equipment. Road

strengthening or reconstruction are normally not considered to be 'maintenance' and are often funded

separately under 'development' or 'capital' budgets. Preventative maintenance is largely small scale

water management. Water must be evacuated as quickly as possible from the road surface and

around the base of embankments before it softens the surface and does irreversible damage to the

road bed and foundation. This requires eliminating standing water by filling in of potholes and ruts on

level ground as well as preventing the formation of lateral and longitudinal gullies where the

destructive momentum of flowing water is particularly damaging. These works can also be undertaken

by skilled and unskilled labor supported by light equipment.

III. Implementation modalities

13.

There are four issues that are a prerequisite for the success of the CRF:

• A well conceived programme of community animation/mobilization and organization to

ensure that users of the road readily pay the road tolls and market fees. The Gender

and Community Development Officer and Development Teams of the BDA will run a

very rigorous programme in this regard.

• The concerned localities namely Butana and River Atbara as well as New Halfa locality

(where the New Halfa market is located) and the Central Gadaref locality (where the

Gadaref livestock market is located) should come to an agreement whereby road tolls

and market fees are levied with the purpose of financing the road maintenance but

without overtaxing producers, market agents and vehicle operators.

• There should be a strict supervision on the staff collecting the road tolls to enforce

discipline and transparency. ⁹

• The soil and water conservation works should be implemented satisfactorily in order to

ensure effective protection of the roads which in turn will help contain the maintenance

costs.

14.

The awareness campaign. The Gender and Community Development Officer of the BDA will

organize the awareness raising campaign with regards the set up for the maintenance of the road and

⁹ The localities are known to be starving for funds and they may violate the agreement and attempt to retain more

that prescribed by the agreements

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

the role of the communities in this regard. The Gender and Community Development Officer and the

BDA Development Teams will form in each community serviced by the road a road committee. The

road committee will receive training on the management of labor based contracts for the

implementation of maintenance works. The road committee would include at least

3 women

members. Indeed, women are likely to benefit from the road in the rainy season and from the

employment opportunities created by the maintenance works during the dry season. The awareness

campaign will also target markets in order to sensitize traders, producers and vehicle operators on the

importance of contributing to the maintenance of the road and on the maintenance arrangements

adopted.

15.

Agreement between the localities. The executive officers in the localities are aware of the

risk of overtaxation of road and market users through the imposition of road tolls. They are also very

aware of the risks of evasion. The executive officers and commissioners advanced the following

proposals: if the vehicle operator pays the road toll at one of the 6 toll stations mentioned below, then

he is exempted from payment at subsequent toll stations. The validity of this exemption (one day or

more) is still to be worked out during the forthcoming mission to design the rod toll system in 2010.

With regards the levy of market fees, the fees should be harmonized and set in a way that does not

increase the transaction costs for the producers. The contribution of each market to the maintenance

of the road needs also to be worked out based on the estimated market throughput supplied from the

Butana region (mainly livestock). The agreements will be developed based on experience and will

need to make room for annual adjustments based on the monitoring of the maintenance works. The

localities will pass the administrative decree for the levy of tolls and fees in 2010 in order for the

decree to enter into full application in 2011 when maintenance works will be required on the road.

16.

Fee collection. It is envisaged that there will be 6 stations where road tolls will be collected

and 5 markets where market fees will be paid. The 6 stations include Arab 6, Es Sadda, Es Soubagh,

Abu Gerad, Fuwal, and Husheib. Each of these stations will be manned by 2 persons working in shifts

(12 hours/ day to start with) and employed by the locality. The 5 markets from which fees will be

collected are Um Al Gora, New Halfa, Es Soubagh, Gadaref and Tamboul. The assumption is that the

users will only be willing to pay for the maintenance of the road once the improvement of the road is

fully completed. It is expected that the users will fully contribute to the road maintenance in project

year 4. Prior to this date, the payments are likely to be partial and insufficient to cover the full

maintenance costs warranting financial support from the project. Indeed, in the simulation of the CRF

(table 1 above), no revenues are planned from 2010 to 2012, which corresponds to the period of road

construction.

17.

Use of the proceeds. The road tolls and market fees are seen by the localities as income to

finance their recurrent costs and eventually their development costs. In order to avoid a situation

whereby the locality is reluctant to transfer the proceeds to the CRF, a formula for sharing the

proceeds needs to be worked out. Based on the simulations carried out in the socio-economic survey,

the proceeds from road tolls and market fees can be shared in the following ratio: in case of road tolls,

70% of the road tolls will be paid to the CRF and 30% to the localities (to cover the cost of collection);

in case of market fees, 100% of the incremental market fee - over and above the usual contract price

for the market management - will be paid towards the CRF. These ratios will be reviewed and

adjusted annually based on the collection performance. The CRF proceeds will be used exclusively to

finance road maintenance works, through labor based contracts and private sector contracting; as

well as remunerate the Road Department of the MPPPU for its supervision of the maintenance works.

18.

Soil and water conservation works. The soil and water conservation works will consist in

the construction of upslope cut-off/interceptor drains and diversion bunds, erosion control measures

and structures and turnout and relief drains. Similarly, downstream slope control structures and

checks will be needed along with vegetative measures to stabilise the gullies. These works will be

undertaken by contract with the communities in the vicinity of the road improvements. The

communities will be organised by road committees to implement the soil and water conservation

works. Master trainers will be trained among selected community members to acquire the necessary

competencies and transfer these skills to their peers. Members of the community will be hired as paid

labour under the contracts for both construction and follow up annual maintenance works. The project

will be providing training to these community members as trainers for the community and will also

provide technical guidance, technical information and construction materials. This will include such

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

items as construction tools (hoes; wheel barrows; etc), construction materials such as gabion baskets

and other materials for the check/slope control structures and the appropriate materials for vegetative

stabilisation (indigenous materials must be utilised wherever possible).

19.

Labor based contracts for maintenance works and for the soil and water conservation

works. The information in this section is largely inspired by the ILO manual on community contracts in

urban infrastructure works, dated 1998, and the on-going practice for community contracting as part

of the construction of educational, health and water facilities.

−

The funder will be the Butana Development Agency. The BDA will finance these

contracts from the revenues of the CRF; and will report to the CRF, localities and its

Board of Directors on the use of revenues and results of monitoring road construction

and maintenance. The BDA will make the payments based on certified receipts of

works completed issued by the Road Departments of the MPPPUs.

−

The contracting authority will be the localities of River Atbara and Butana

depending on the location of the maintenance works. The Director General of the

MPPPU will be the signatory of the contract.

−

The contractor will be the road committee. The road committee will be a sub-

committee under the already formed and registered community based organizations

that exist at the level of the villages serviced by the road.

−

The technical service provider for the contract will be the Road Department of the

MPPPU. This department is responsible for the design of works and for the

supervision of works included in the labor based contract.

−

Tendering of the works. Works that fall within the boundaries of a community and

that are determined by the Road Department as eligible for implementation through

labour intensive modalities will be contracted out to the road committee in the given

locality. This presumes that the Road Departments in the MPPPUs in Gadaref and

Kassala will establish a list of all maintenance works that are eligible for labour

intensive implementation. Community members, both women and men, will be trained

on the execution of such works.

−

Remuneration. The level of remuneration will take into consideration the prevailing

wage rates, the material benefits gained by the community from the implementation

of these works (particularly in the case of soil and water conservation where the land

can then be used for productive purposes), and an agreed profit margin

(the

acceptable norm is 10-15% for community contracting). The remuneration of the

technical service provider can either be part of the community contract and deducted

accordingly) or be paid separately by the BDA.

−

Payment schedule. The payment schedule will include an advance. Payments will

be made thereafter based on reaching specific milestones and as certified by the

maintenance team of the Road Department of the concerned MPPPU. Payment

requests will be submitted by the road committee to the locality and subsequently to

the certification of the payment, the locality will authorize the BDA to pay the rod

committee.

−

Special clauses. The contract will include special clauses about work safety and the

non employment of children.

−

Graduation. With the road committees that are achieving a satisfactory delivery of

the labour based contracts, the localities will award labour and material contracts for

the maintenance works for which local material is available. In case the labour and

material contracts are satisfactorily completed, the road committees can be

considered for applying to full contracts as part of local shopping procurement

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

modalities. This graduation process will be in line with the increased capacity of the

road committees and the competency of the labour force it will mobilize.

− Dispute resolution. Disputes will be resolved amicably through the customary and

local courts. If inconclusive, the case will be referred to the state court for arbitration.

− Contract documentation. The documentation of the contract will be adapted from

the on-going contracts for the construction of education/ health and water facilities

using community contracting. These contracts will be revised to include the

description of labour intensive works, the supervision modalities, and the reporting

requirements. A full set of contract documentation, progress reporting and

certification of works will be developed by the Road Department of the MPPPUs with

support from the BDA technical team of road engineers.

20.

Audit of the CRF. The CRF will be audited as part of the overall audit of the BDA. The audit

findings will be submitted to the CRF and to the Board of Directors of the BDA for review and

corrective actions to be implemented by the BDA management.

21.

Accountability framework. In order to promote the accountability and transparency of the

financing and implementation of the maintenance works, the BDA will issue as part of its progress

report, a short report (2 pages) in Arabic detailing the CRF revenues, the use of funds, the audit

findings and the results of project monitoring (focus will be on user satisfaction, time and costs saved,

rediction in transport costs, increase of producer prices, and number of labor days generated). The

information will also be disseminated through radio. Grievances and complaints will be reported to the

localities and to the BDA development teams, who will then transmit them to the Gender and

Community Development Officer and the BDA Director for further action.

22.

Start of implementation. The mobilization and organization of road committees will already

start in the first year of implementation of the project with particular focus on the communities where

road tolls are likely to be established. The CRF will be formalized in project year 2 and will start

disbursing maintenance funds provided by the project budget.

IV. Risks and Risk Mitigation

23.

User unwillingness to pay the road tolls and the market fees. A number of variables

affect collection such as users’ expectation as to the construction and quality of the road that reflect

on the vehicle performance, time saved and reduction in vehicle maintenance costs, the revenue

flows and build up to meet any emergency situation as well as transparency and diligence in the

management of funds by the CRF committee. The project will mitigate this risk through awareness

campaigns, release of monitoring findings with regards road passability, traffic frequency, reduction in

operating costs and benefit from higher market prices. Transparency in the use of collected funds will

be enhanced through communication campaigns on the budget and expenditures of the CRF, and the

audit findings. This communication will be primarily carried out by the road committees and the BDA.

24.

Inflation and currency devaluation threaten the future viability of the CRF. Hence a

legitimate question arises: How to dissuade the impact of inflation and the paradox (issue) of

decreased purchasing power. This risk will be mitigated through the following: (i) the collection of fees

should be kept ahead of the expected maintenance works; (ii) an examination of flow of benefits in

table 1 reveals that revenues exceed estimated costs by a wide margin; (iii) the RAP funds that will be

used to finance the road maintenance in its early stages will be kept in foreign currency and will

constitute a hedge against the anticipated devaluation of the currency and of inflation. The road fees

will be modified from time to time to reduce the impact of decreasing purchasing power of the CRF.

25.

Quality of the road maintenance may be less than optimal given the scarcity of

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

ANNEX VII: START-UP ACTIVITIES OF THE RURAL ACCESS PROJECT

This annex summarizes the start up activities for the Rural Access Project. The start-up

activities described hereafter are intended to speed up the implementation of the project and to

ensure the transparency of the procurement process, and that the selected contractors and

consultancy firms will provide good value for money. The start-up activities extend from September

2009 to March 2010.

The verification and validation of the design works for the proposed road alignment

Husheib-Es Soubagh- Arab 6. The State Ministry of Physical Planning and Public Utilities of Gadaref

State will submit the revised design works for the proposed alignment by mid October 2009. A field

mission will take place to verify the appropriateness of the design, especially the suitability of the

proposed technical specifications with soil conditions, hydrology, and the fact that the alignment is

free from land disputes. The verification and validation will involve representatives from the NHBA,

MPPPUs of Gadaref and Kassala, localities of River Atbara and Butana, and the communities located

along the road. This exercise will take place during November 2009, by which time the final technical

specifications and bills of quantities of the road will be developed and endorsed.

The prequalification of consultancy firms and contractors. The project has two major

contracts to procure: the construction of the road and the hiring of the consultancy firm that will carry

out the supervision of the road construction and the capacity building for the Road Departments of the

MPPPUs and the communities.

The procurement modality for the contractors will follow national competitive bidding

procedures. The prequalification of the contractor firms for the road works will be carried out by the

BDA with support from the Central Coordination Unit for the IFAD co-financed projects (CCU). The

announcement for the prequalification will be issued in October 2009 and will be valid for two weeks.

The qualification of eligible contractors will be done thereafter and is estimated to last 4 weeks. The

criteria for selecting eligible contractors includes: (i) contractors already pre-qualified by the NHBA; (ii)

track record in completion of works in a timely manner and within budget; (iii) availability of necessary

machinery and equipment; (iv) expertise of the contractors’ engineering staff. Field visits and

reference checks will be carried out by the NHBA, the CCU and IFAD to qualify eligible contractors.

The reference checks will consist of due diligence checks on the financial background,

shareholder/registration information, etc of applicant firms.

Once eligible contractors are qualified, they will be invited to submit a financial and technical

proposal. The proposals will be reviewed and the evaluation committee will rank them. The evaluation

committee will be chaired by the State Ministry of Physical Planning and Public Utilities of Gadaref

State and co-chaired by the State Ministry of Physical Planning and Public Utlities of the Kassala

State, with membership from the CCU, the NHBA, MOFNE, the representatives of the Road

Departments in the MPPPUs, the representatives from the serviced communities, and the BDA. The

CCU will act as the secretariat for this evaluation committee given its long experience in procurement

procedures and knowledge of IFAD procurement guidelines.

In case of the consultancy firms, the procurement will follow international competitive bidding

procedures. An expression of interest will be issued in October 2009 and published in international

magazines and in UN sites. The shortlisting of eligible firms will be done along the following criteria: (i)

track record in carrying out similar assignments with particular reference to supervision and training

on the spot improvement approach and preventative maintenance; (ii) joint venture with Sudanese

firm; (iii) client satisfaction with work rendered. A reference check will be conducted systematically.

Again, the reference check will consist in a due diligence check on the financial background,

shareholder/registration information, etc of applicant firms. Shortlisted firms will be invited to submit a

technical and financial proposal. The evaluation committee evaluating the proposals of the

consultancy firms will be chaired by the BDA, with membership from the representatives of the

MPPPUs, the NHBA, the MOFNE and the CCU. The CCU will act as the secretariat of this evaluation

committee. The evaluation committee will be required to organize face to face interviews with the

Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader as part of the assessment of their competencies and

suitability for the job.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

IFAD will attend the technical and financial evaluation of contractors’ bids and consultancy

proposals as an observer and will hire a specialist to carry out this task on its behalf. The specialist

will report to IFAD and MOFNE on adherence to the criteria, and that due diligence was followed in

ranking the various bids/ proposals.

The contract award for the road works and the consultancy services will be subject to the

approval of the RAP by the Executive Board of IFAD in December 2009, entry into force of the project

and no objection from IFAD on the evaluation report. The 18 month procurement plan for the RAP

illustrates the timeline for this process (appendix 1).

Synchronizing the implementation of the BIRDP livestock and market development

activities and RAP. The BDA is set to present its AWPB 2010 for the BIRDP to MOFNE in

September 2009, to its Board of Directors for approval in October 2009 and to IFAD for no objection

in November 2009. The BDA and IFAD need to ensure that the following issues are incorporated in

the BIRDP AWPB 2010: (i) enrolment of the 21 communities along the road in the BIRDP ; (ii)

implementation of the market rehabilitation and market information system; (iii) design works for the

crossings budgeted under BIRDP; (iv) a separate section in the AWPB is dedicated to the 2010

activities and budget under RAP. The BDA should also proceed with the selection of the soil and

water conservation specialist from the State Ministries of Agriculture to join the development teams in

the localities of Butana and River Atbara.

10.

Supervision of the RAP. In December 2009, the MOFNE, NHBA, BDA and IFAD will

develop a joint supervision plan for the project period to ensure that construction works are regularly

supervised and effectively monitored. IFAD will retain a specialized international road engineer for the

full period to supervise the project and provide an independent assessment of the progress of works,

cost efficiency and effectiveness of the project in achieving its physical and institutional results. In

2010, IFAD will also a hire an economist to design the toll system with the Butana and River Atbara

localities. From 2011 to 2013, IFAD will also retain a specialist in labour based works and community

contracting to ensure that systems are developed for the labour based contracts for soil and water

conservation and maintenance works. Supervision missions for this project will take place twice a

year during the project duration.

11.

Start-up workshop for the RAP. It is proposed that the start-up workshop of the RAP be

implemented in March 2010 by which time the contractor and consultancy firm are selected. The start-

up workshop will emphasize the physical and institutional objectives of the project; the supervision

and monitoring arrangements; the arrangements for community participation. The start-up workshop

will dedicate time to: (i) the reporting requirements expected from the contractor, the consultancy firm,

the BDA and supervision and audit teams; (ii) the disclosure of information on the progress of works

and performance of the contractors and consultancy firm; (iii) orientation on promoting greater

transparency in the execution of the works and services contracts and practical measures to ensure

this. In this regard, the IFAD and Government anti-corruption policies and reporting measures will be

presented and discussed and the reporting contact details for IFAD and Government will be made

available. .

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VII

Table 1. Schedule of start-up activities

What

When

Who

How much

The validation of the

November 2009

IFAD, NHBA,

USD 10 000

design works

MPPPUs

The prequalification of

October 2009

Led by BDA and

USD 20 000 (eligible

consultancy firms and

CCU

for retroactive

contractors.

financing)

Evaluation of bids and

November to

proposals

December 2009

IFAD as observer

Synchronizing the

September to

Led by BDA

implementation of the

November 2009

BIRDP livestock and

market development

activities and RAP

Start-up workshop

March 2010

Led by BDA

Part of the RAP

budget (under

planning workshops,

component 3)

12.

Adoption of the Project Anti-Corruption System (PACS) in RAP. The PACS is an

integrated and comprehensive system designed by Transparency International to assist in the

prevention of corruption and the promotion of transparency and efficiency on construction projects.

The design team proposes to adapt the PACS principles to the purpose of the project as follows:

Independent assessment. The project will be audited annually and supervised at least twice

a year by a joint IFAD/NHBA/MOFNE team. The audit and the supervision are considered as

independent assessments.

Pre-contract disclosure information. The expressions of interest for the qualification of

contractors and consultancy firms will require the provision of information on principal

shareholders, officers, financial status, agents, joint venture partners, major sub-contractors,

and any event of criminal convictions and debarment. The applicants will be systematically

reference checked. In the case of prequalifying contractors, site visits will be carried out by a

team composed of the NHBA/BDA (represented by the CCU)/ IFAD.

Contractual anti-corruption commitments and enforcement. As per IFAD general

conditions, all contracts need now to stipulate anti-corruption commitments. The contract for

works and services will include this clause, as well as penalties in case of a breach of

contract. By signing the financing agreement, the Government commits to implement these

General Conditions.

Transparency. The progress reports of the project, the findings of the audit and supervision

missions will be systematically translated into Arabic and made available to the implementing

partners as well as to the road committees and other civil society organizations active in the

project area. These documents will also be posted on the CCU web site.

Reporting on corruption or mismanagement of procurement. During the awareness

raising campaigns at community level, road committees will be responsible for the supervision

of construction and maintenance works. Irregularities will be reported to the locality

development teams and subsequently to the BDA Director and Gender and Community

Development Officer. Corrective actions will be taken accordingly.

Developing a good governance framework. Within 12 months after Board approval, IFAD

and GoNU together with other interested partners such as the EU would prepare a

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

ANNEX VIII: THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL REVIEW - SUMMARY OF THE

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Brief description of the project

The Rural Access Project invests in rural roads in a way that complements the transport,

production and marketing infrastructure supported in the IFAD co-financed Butana Integrated

Rural Development Project (BIRDP, SD-717) and the Government supported Agricultural

Revival Programme (ARP).

The approach adopted for the construction of rural roads will consist of spot improvements in

the form of the establishment of wadi crossings, spot repairs and treatment of gulley erosion.

The access road selected is the Arab 6 - Es Soubagh - Husheib alignment, a 144 km long

road servicing 5 main markets.

The project area covers two localities (Butana in Gadaref State, River Atbara in Kassala

State). The area is characterized by silty clay and black cotton soils where relatively poor

drainage characteristics combined with flat topography results in prolonged periods of

inundation during the rainy season especially in depressions and flat plain areas. Throughout

the rainy season, general access to and from the main external markets is very difficult for

vehicular access, livestock and people especially across seasonal streams.

The total number of direct beneficiaries is expected to be 130 000 persons equivalent to

about 15 000 producer households. It is also expected that there will be 1700 additional

women trading in the main markets serviced by the road. Another 136 000 persons composed

of the population of the River Atbara with business and kinship ties to the Butana area are

estimated to be indirect beneficiaries. Poor households constitute 80% of the rural population

in Butana.

The project will contribute to the COSOP 2009-2012 goal of empowering the rural poor to

increase their food security, incomes and resilience to shocks. The main project objective is to

improve the socio-economic conditions of the rural population through increased access of

the rural poor to productive services and markets. Four key results are expected from the

project:

- Rural roads upgraded in Central Butana and regularly maintained.

- Communities are trained to manage road tolls and to engage in labor based maintenance

contracts;

- State capacity is strengthened to plan, design, supervise, and maintain rural feeder roads

using the spot improvement approach.

The project has 3 main components:

− Physical rehabilitation and construction of rural roads which consist in the

improvement of the Arab 6 - Es Soubagh - Husheib road, implementing

conservation works to protect the road from dendricular erosion; and

establishing the Community Road Fund which will act as the principal

financing mechanism for the routine, periodic and preventative maintenance

of the road.

− Capacity building and institutional development that would target the Road

Departments of the State Ministries of Physical Planning and Public Utilities

(MPPPUs) with formal and on-site training as well as office support; in

addition to training of communities on soil and water conservation works to

protect the road from gulley erosion and on the management of the labour

based contracts for road maintenance. Road committees will be established

to organize and implement the conservation and maintenance works.

− Project management. The Butana Development Agency (BDA) will be the

lead agency for this project and will be responsible for the coordination and

financial management of project activities.

Sudan: Rural Access Project (RAP)

PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

II.

Major site characteristics, potential social and environmental impacts and risks

For the purpose of this report, the proposed road is divided into two routes to ease description

and tracking. Moreover, each route is divided into sectors based mainly on natural features.

these are :

− Route No. (1) Es-Subagh - New Halfa Town which is composed of the

following sectors: Sector (A) Es-Subagh - Es-Sadda village and Es-Sadda

seasonal stream (khor); Sector (B) Es-Sadda Village and Es-Sadda Seasonal

Stream (khor) - Khor Al-Musran (seasonal stream), Sector (C) Khor Al-

Musran (seasonal stream) - Arab 6 village and New Halfa Irrigated Scheme

Main Drainage Canal.

− Route No. (2) Es-Subagh -Husheib village which is divided into the following

sectors: Sector (D) Es-Subagh -Al-Fuwal Village; Sector (E) Al-Fuwal Village

- Surooj Manana Village,

− Sector (F) Surooj Manana Village -Husheib.

Herefollows is a description of the environmental characteristics in each sector.

Sector (A) Es-Subagh - Es-Sadda Village and As-Sadda Seasonal stream (khor). This

portion of the route is characterized by an apparent lack of cultivation activities. This might be

attributed to the non-existence of human settlements close to both sides of the proposed

route. The area is generally used for grazing grounds by both nomadic and sedentary peoples

as typically the soil is light clay covered with gravels and stones that ease the movement of

animals in the wet season. In addition, the area is endowed with nutritive plants, relatively

good water supply in the dry season. Es Subagh market is active in the rainy season.

The extensive herbaceous cover with dominance of only one species (Ipomoea spp.) is

considered as a sign of deterioration as historically the area is characterized by a mosaic

cover of plants including grasses like Aristida funiculata and Schoenfoldia gracilis (locally

known as Gaw and Dambalab respectively). However such condition calls for more practical

measures to improve the grazing resources. Many interventions could be introduced like

reseeding through using water harvesting techniques and this will require larger involvement

of native administration and Pastoralist Union to secure sustainability with clear legislations

that maintain appropriate land use. From another perspective, the improved marketing

facilities and incentives combined with better accessibility will contribute to alleviating

pressure on natural grazing resources in this sector and the subsequent ones.

A few shallow and narrow water courses are reported over this sector with relatively pure

stand of Acacia tortillis subspecies radiana (Salam) in pockets along with a wide spread of a

mixtures of Acacia mellifera (Kitir), Acacia nubica (laaot) and Acacia tortillis (Seyal) .These

stands are left intact with no sign of cutting or lobbing and/or substantial gully erosion and

with a tree density varying from about 30 trees/ha to 5,000 trees /ha. .Good conservation of

the existing resources coupled with minimum intervention through regeneration using seed

broadcasting will reverse or arrest any type of erosion. Apart from these stands which are

found in association with water courses it is hard to observe any type of tree.

This part of the route is not crossing a water stream that has essential impact on recharge of

water sources which are almost non-existent at the nearby environs.

The Es-Sadda seasonal stream (khor) is characterized by substantial bank erosion as clearly

indicated by the excessive sand sedimentation at the curves/bends. Also, uprooted trees

were noticed along the khor due to the erosive power of the torrential rain water during the

last month of July 2009. Erection of any structure on the khor will need tremendous effort to

avoid further bank erosion or flooding. Thus, effort is required to enrich the forest cover by

transplanting or seed broadcasting as well as by appropriate technologies to reduce the

negative impact of any cultivation which is currently practiced in a patchy manner by the local

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PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

population along the flooded area of the stream. Also, the existing water sources (hafirs)

which are close to the stream or further new ones require more attention in design and

management to avoid overflow, subsidence or collapse. For instance, good watershed

management through vegetative regeneration, green fencing of hafir as well as consequent

de-silting and embankment compaction are imperative.

Sector (B) Es-Sadda village and Es-Sadda seasonal stream (khor) - Khor Al-Musran

(seasonal stream). This portion is traversing a rangeland with a minimum cultivation activity,

which maybe encouraged following the improvement of road, due to its close location to

settlements lying west to Halfa town. The area is also characterised by existence of abundant

water along Khors Al-Musran and As-Sadda which are enough to sustain animals for a

period of time during the wet season even when intermittent rain is reported and long dry

spells .Thus, this characteristic coupled with the accessibility to Ar-Rataga and Es-Subagh

livestock markets are the factors attracting pastoralists to graze in this area for a couple of

weeks during the rainy season. The presence of good browsing tree species along the two

khors is another benefit that attracts herders. Generally the range condition is fair and will

require conservation and improvement as well as measures to prevent the acceleration of

bank erosion.

Sector (C) Khor Al-Musran (seasonal stream)- Arab 6 and New Halfa Irrigated Scheme

Main Drainage Canal . This sector is comparatively characterized by intensive cultivation

using terraces to improve soil moisture. Although the land is relatively flat with a gentle slope,

the sign of water erosion is clear. The improved road is expected to add pressure on the land

by triggering cultivation in this area as this sector is close to highly populated areas. The

effects of horizontal expansion of cultivation can be mitigated through improving the quality of

the terraces and improved tillage techniques. Promoting appropriate land use calls for

genuine cooperation between the government institutions like the Land Use and

Desertification Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kassala State, the Farmers Union and the

Native Administration in order to regulate the use of land and limit horizontal expansion .The

BIRDP should lead such effort and explore more viable technologies to address the

deteriorating condition in this sector. Already the project is piloting technological packages

that may prove suitable for these conditions: the development team in River Atbara locality

has implemented, on a pilot basis, a technological package focussing on terrace cultivation in

similar areas neighbouring the sector under discussion. In that exercise the communities have

welcomed and accepted the idea of broadcasting tree seed of Acacia seyal (Talih) along

terraces to build shelterbelts that can generate multipurpose outputs for the benefit of both

the farming households and the land fertility. Also, this idea is highly appreciated by women

who constitute a considerable portion of farming labour in addition to their domestic use of the

wood. This year, new communities have approached the BDA for the provision of an

additional amount of seeds. Intervention in afforestation is highly required in the area around

this sector. In this regard, the experience of the Farmers Union in distributing bottled gas and

cookers should be supported and encouraged to alleviate pressure on tree cover as the main

source of energy in cooking.

The range condition along this sector is poor in term of quantity and quality. The plant cover is

dominated by one herb (Ipomoea spp.) with very sparse distribution of trees. So far no conflict

over livestock routes as far as these routes are used only as corridors for drinking water in

irrigation canals or trekking animals to the neighbouring markets at New Halfa town or

Rataga. The mission noted that the farmers are cultivating close to the corridors, and proper

arrangements with all stakeholders should be undertaken to guarantee a buffer zone around

the proposed road for easy access of the animals to water sources and markets. This idea is

supported by the fact that all these sources and places are roughly lying at the eastern

terminal of the proposed road.

Sector (D) Es-Subagh -Al-Fuwal Village. This portion is characterised by numerous small

water courses with sparse distribution of trees, mainly of Acacia tortillas (Seyal ) and Acacia

nubica (Laaot) . Generally the herbaceous and arboraceous covers are better than those

reported under the above mentioned sectors. For instance, trees are located in association

with relatively diversified herbs and grasses including namely Ipomoea spp. (Tabar and

Lablab) Aristida funiculata (Gaw) and Schoenfoldia gracilis (Dambalab), outside the water

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PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

courses. Roughly the tree densities were estimated at 50 to 400 trees/ha. However, as this

portion is endowed with better range condition and minimum cultivation activity, it is heavily

visited by pastoralists. The concentration of pastoralists is encouraged by relative availability

of drinking water especially in five semi- natural water ponds clustered midway between Es-

Subagh and Al Fuwal. However to keep the utilization of such grazing resources at a fair

balance, distribution of water sources through excavation of small hafirs of limited capacity is

important. It is worthy to mention that, despite the uncontrolled use of these semi- natural

water ponds as no barbed wire fence is there or had been erected; there is vigorous growth of

Acacia nilotica (Sunut). As this tree species is classified as a water loving plant, its presence

strongly indicates the sustainability of such water ponds. Experience from the construction of

other roads such as the New Halfa - Gadaref road, shows that the borrow pits excavated for

the construction of the road were completely colonized by such species (at the upstream end

of the road). Such colonization assists in providing wind break as well as preventing overflow

that may lead to road damage or causing water logging that may hamper movement along the

sideway of the road by other users like pedestrians or trekked animals . In the case of the

alignment Es Subagh-Al Fuwal, this natural regeneration could be strengthened by seed

broadcasting in borrow pits, seasonal hafirs and other low lying lands. Also, improvement

activities in rangeland should be pursued by reseeding.

The mission would like to also caution against the use of borrow pits for the purpose of

commercial sale of water. Indeed this practice is reported in River Nile State in the Northern

part of the Butana, where commercial tankers collect water from natural ponds and sell to

villages affected by water shortages in the dry season. This has led to the complete depletion

of such ponds and to high competition over grazing resources with subsequent friction and

land degradation. Although the state has valid and effective legislations that prohibit the

collection of water by commercial tankers from Hafirs

(constructed earth tanks), such

legislation do not cover natural water ponds. Accordingly, the mission recommends that such

safe legislation be instituted in the Kassala and Gadaref states to prevent commercial

exploitation of water accumulating in the borrow pits used for the construction of the road.

Sector (E) Al-Fuwal Village - Surooj Manana Village. This sector is well known for its vast

and low lying land with frequent steep slopes and to some extent patchy tillage using different

tractor mounted-implements. Although the improvement in road may not have substantial

negative environmental impact on this sector, the main environmental risk is caused by

inappropriate tillage practised parallel to the slope, and signs of gulley erosion are apparent.

The mission recommends the introduction of technological packages for improved tillage,

introduction of soil moisture conservation techniques and planting of leguminous crop. The

improved accessibility of the area would facilitate the availability of agricultural services like

tractors which movement at the moment is restricted by water courses. The mission also

suggests to support research on the optimum time for ploughing and sowing that takes into

account the environmental and socioeconomic impact as well as yield per unit of land area

and could prevent the horizontal expansion of cultivation in view of the increased availability

of mechanization.

The range condition in this sector is fair as heterogeneous cover of range plants is reported

People are reported to come from Es-Subagh to this area to harvest dry natural forage and

grasses to thatch the roofs of the houses. This is usually done either by traditional tool or by

hand pulling, leaving the land bare and entirely without standing hay or debris for protection

against wind and water erosion. This practice may be further encouraged by improved

accessibility and therefore corrective measures will be needed. These measures would

include awareness & training package for the local communities; orienting the population to

cut grass above the ground (5 centimetres) and to use appropriate tools like sickle for cutting.

Also cutting could be done in patchy pattern or along strips in alternating manner to make

shelter for protection against wind and water. Also, proper devices for cutting could be

explored by modelling new prototypes. In conclusion, the Cut and Carry System could be

supported by improved road and could generate improved husbandry of forage crops and

grasses and institution of appropriate regulations to protect against erosion and deterioration

of vegetative cover.

Sector (F) Surooj Manana Village --Husheib Village. This sector is relatively characterized

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PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

by numerous and wider water courses in addition to depressions locally known as “mayaa”.

The massive gulley erosion is apparent along these courses. Despite this, the sector

represents a good ecological niche for the growing of Acacia mellifera (kitter) in addition to

Ziziphus spina-christi (sidir) and Acacia tortillis (seyal). The tree cover density is varying from

30 trees to 2,000 trees/ha. This cover gives peculiarity to the area as a good rangeland,

although this is hampered by the difficult movement over muddy terrain in the rainy season

and relative scarcity of drinking water during the dry season. The main cluster of Husheib,

lying at about 5 kilometres east to the proposed road, has the only available water source in

the dry season. About 10,000 heads of camels, 1,500 cattle and 6,000 small ruminants are

visiting this source on a daily basis. The water is provided by about 40 open wells through

using pulleys with a limited use of motorized devices in drawing out water. Although the water

table and yield is improving following the construction of a water dyke by the federal

government under the Agricultural Revival Programme, the availability of drinking water is a

cause of concern to the livestock owners and herders. Therefore, borrow pits should be done

in such a way to improve water availability. This idea is usually favoured by the dominance of

non porous soil layers which are more probable in this sector.

Improved accessibility may encourage trading in fuel wood and charcoal in this area as

generally the communities are poor and rely on charcoal making and sale for their livelihood.

Incentive measures are needed to encourage the local communities to assume their roles

over conservation and enriching of the existing tree cover in addition to formulation of

alternative income generating activities to support decent livelihoods.

In addition to the description of the flora, as done above, the mission also noted the following

fauna: the Grasshopper Hawk; Egyptian Vulture; Nubian Vulture; Pied Crow; Nubian Bustard;

Abdim’s Stork; Little Egret; Grey Heron; Open Bill Stork; Caramine Bee Eater; Green Bee

Eater; Black Headed Plover; Mourning Dove; Macqaue Dove; Crested Lark; Quela Quela;

Sand Grouse; House Sparrow; Black Sparrow; Rabbits; Cobras and Puff Adders;

Grasshoppers and centipedes are in good numbers. There are no sightings or reports of any

other animal taxa; not even Jackals, squirrels, Jerboas, or rodents. There are no known bird

migration flyways, nesting or breeding sites.

III.

Environmental and social issues

As described in the previous section, the Butana is affected by environmental deterioration as

a result of an array of practices related to farming, herding and mining of the vegetative cover.

By increasing the accessibility of the Butana, the negative impacts of farming and mining the

vegetative cover are likely to be exacerbated. The main environmental issues related to the

construction of the road and increased accessibility to Butana are as follows:

The competition over scarce water resources in the dry season. The camp location and

water source for the construction works will need to be carefully selected in order to avoid

competition over drinking water with the population. It is recommended to truck water during

the first season of the road construction. Thereafter, the contractor will construct water

harvesting sites from which water can be made available locally. Reliable water sources are

certain to attract farmers and herders. Moreover, the location of the water sources should, as

far as possible, be related to the range carrying capacity. That is to say, decisions should not

be taken on engineering merits only and this consideration should feature prominently in the

construction contracts.

The location and construction of burrow pits. The burrow pits are likely to later become

natural water ponds and to facilitate the generation of trees. To the extent possible the burrow

pits should be located to facilitate animal drinking and grazing along the stock route corridors

into Butana, as well as to protect against the commercial exploitation of the collected water

through appropriate administrative decrees and community awareness. Siting of lined

engineered burrow pits during road construction should be carefully considered using

topographic satellite imagery maps, soil type, drainage and local relief. The raised

embankment of the road could be used to train and direct water into storage structure and

decrease erosion due to uncontrolled runoff. This could work in low lying terrain (such as

mayaas or depressions).

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PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

The management of waste material from the construction sites. The construction

contract should stipulate that the contractor will store the waste safely and remove it upon

completion of works. The contractor could also be mandated to restore the site upon

completion of works.

The horizontal expansion of cultivation. The increased accessibility resulting from the road

construction is likely to encourage farmers to expand cultivation and to increase demand on

mechanization. Given the erratic rainfall and the principal attribute of the Butana area as

grazing land given the ecological constraints, the horizontal expansion of cultivation should be

controlled. This would be promoted through appropriate technical packages favouring soil and

water conservation and afforestation techniques, promoted under the on-going Butana

Integrated Rural Development Project.

Land disputes. The alignment selected should be free from land disputes and this should be

validated with the local population. Alternatively the road alignment should be changed or

compensated ensured by the local government.

IV.

Potential social and environmental impacts and risks

The potential social and environmental impacts and risks are summarized below along with

the proposed mitigation measures:

Potential Negative Impacts

Mitigating Measures

Direct impacts during construction

− Erosion from fresh road cuts and fills and

−

Limitation of earth moving to dry season.

temporary sedimentation of natural drainage

−

Protection of drainage channels.

ways.

−

Installation of sedimentation basins, seeding

− Ground and water contamination by oil,

or planting of erodable surfaces promptly.

grease and fuel in equipment yards.

−

Collection and recycling of luricants

− Creation of stagnant water bodies in burrow

−

Employment of improved landscaping, filling

pits, quarries etc suited to mosquito breeding

or drainage to avoid creating habitats.

and other disease vectors.

−

Careful siting, construcion and management

− Environmental and social disruption by

of constructin camps.

construction camps.

−

Check alternative alignment; negotiate the

− Dispute over land.

public utlity of the road; and compensation

payment if required by local government.

Direct: Permanent

− Destruction of buildings, vegetation and soil

−

Alternative alignment.

in the right of way burrow pit sites, and

−

Compenstion given to property owners.

equipment yards,

−

Restoration of sites.

− Erosion below the roadbed receiving outflow

−

Increse in number of drain outlets.

carried by drains.

−

Drain outlets placed so as to avoid cascade

− Increased suspended sedimet in streams

effect.

afected by road cut erosion, decline in water

−

Lining of receiving surface with stones or

quality

and increased sedimentaton

concrete.

downstream.

−

Establishment of vegetative cover on

− Health hazard and interference of plant

erodable surfaces as soon as possible.

growth adjacent to road by dust raised and

−

Establishment of retention ponds to reduce

blown by vehicles.

sediment load before water enters streams.

− Contamination of ground and surface water

−

Dust control by application of water in

by herbicides for vegetation control and

sensitive areas.

chemicals for dust control.

− Creation of a new pathway for disease

vectors affecting humans and animals.

The mitigation measures outlined above particularly with regards drainage, soil and water

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PROGRAMME/PROJECT DESIGN REPORT - ANNEX VIII

conservation works and establishment of vegetative cover to protect against soil and water

erosion are provided for in the technical specifications of the road construction (please refer to

working paper 1 on the engineering aspects). It was also observed that for civil works

contracts issued by Gadaref State, clauses are included that refer to environmental

conservation. In the case of the RAP, this can be replicated to specify the siting of the

contractors’ camp, the burrow pits, and the management of the waste.

Environmental category

Siting of a road is the most critical decision in road construction. It will largely determine the

type and magnitude of environmental and social impacts that will result from road

construction. The mission is of the opinion that the present siting of the road is excellent. It

avoided many mayas (depressions where water accumulates) and khors while fulfilling its

primary objective

(improving accessibility during the rainy season). Given the risks, the

mitigation response and the responses included in the design of the Rural Access Project and

the Butana Integrated Development Project, the environmental classification of the project is

category B. This means that the project does not merit a full-fledged Environmental and

Social Impact Assessment. In this case, the Environmental Screening and Scoping report

should be adequate. It is also worth mentioning that the Sudanese Environmental Act of 2001

does not specify or categorize projects. It does not have by-laws addressing such issues.

VI.

Further information required to complete screening and scoping

The present environmental assessment has highlighted the need for:

a land use plan to control the expansion of crop cultivation and safeguard

the grazing areas;

the need for a master plan for the development of water resources in

Butana. This would be based on an inventory of the water sources, locating

key water structures taking into account upstream/ downstream uses and

carrying capacity of the range, as well as optimal management measures.

Such studies can be completed within the BIRDP budget for carrying out a resource inventory

and monitoring biodiversity.

VII.

Recommended features of project design and monitoring to improve natural

resources management and to mitigate environmental concerns

The environmental issues identified above will be addressed by the Butana Development

Agency through its two projects, the Butana Integrated Rural Development Project and the

Rural Access Project.

The main mitigation measures fall within the scope of the Butana Integrated Rural

Development Project (BIRDP). Indeed, the BIRDP aims to improve in a sustainable manner

the livelihoods and resilience to drought of the poor rural households. The specific objectives

of the project include: (i) establishing a coherent and cost effective governance framework

that ensures a regulated access to land and water resources of the Butana; (ii) improving the

access and bargaining position of women and men in the marketing of livestock;

(iii)

developing the capacity of community-based organizations to engage in environmentally

sound, socially and gender equitable development initiatives. The mitigation measures for the

horizontal expansion of cultivation are included in the range of activities of the agriculture,

range and water development component. The main outputs of the component would include:

improved on-farm water use and efficiency, improved carrying capacity and biodiversity of the

range, improved water accessibility and affordability.

The following technological packages are proposed under the BIRDP and respond to the

mitigation measures recommended in the section above: (i) the key techniques for rangeland

development and improvement are reseeding, resting and deferred grazing, fire line, and

water management; (ii) modification of traditional terrace cultivation through the introduction

of chisel plowing in lieu of the current destructive disc plowing, use of early maturing varieties

Military reference books and manuals (2009-2023, Volume 6) - page 2