Road Sector In Palestine Achievements, Needs, and Challenges 1

Introduction Economic and social development are closely related to the coverage and condition of the road network – Roads provide access to markets, education, and health services – Normally carry between 60 and 90% of all passenger and freight transport (100% in the Palestinian territories) – Generally, roads are the biggest public capital asset, representing between 15% and 30% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. – 30% and 50% of roads in developing countries (same condition in Palestine) are in poor condition, costing the national economy between 2 and 5% of GDP annually. Mainly, these costs are the result of increased vehicle operating costs, longer travel times, higher accident rates, more freight damages and additional road rehabilitation cost. Road Network is the only mode of the transportation in Palestine – The total length of the road network in the West Bank is approx 3200 km excluding agricultural, dirt, and urban roads – Based on functional basis, these roads are classified into: main, regional and local – 65% of the road network is in Fair to bad condition – The density of roads with respect to population reached 1.19 km per 1000 population in this indicator implies poor road network serviceability to Palestinian communities, and is less than the respective densities in all the countries in the region, except Egypt. (the road network density is 1.35 and 4.94 km/1000pop in Jordan and Syria respectively) 2

Road Network Condition in Palestine The following is a demonstration of the road network condition based on the field survey conducted in 2010 by MPWH:  Good: The pavement structure is adequate (Limited surface distresses exist), the distresses density is less than 15%, the geometric dimensions are suitable for the traffic volume, there is a drainage system (more than 50%), Generally safe  Fair: The pavement structure needs support ( less than 50% damaged), the pavement distresses density from 15-30% the geometric dimensions are less than required for the traffic volume, partial drainage system ((25-50%), safety needs enhancement  Bad: more than 50% pavement structure is damaged the pavement distresses density > 50% the geometric dimensions are not adequate for the traffic volume, no drainage system, not safe 3

Achievements in the Road Sector During the period PNA -since established in in cooperation with many donors has exhausted every effort in developing the road sector in the Palestinian territories The following are the major achievements of MPWH- supported by many donors- in developing the road sector from : 1. Road Projects: includes reconstruction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of parts of the road network as illustrated in the following table: 4 Roads Project Executed during with respect to Financing body NoFinancing Body No of financed projects Total Sum (converted to million $) Totla Length of roads included in the projects (km)Comments 1Ministry of Finance (in addition to km maintenance 5.5mill $ ) 2USAID Arab Development Bank (BADEA) Saudi Development Fund (SDF) KFW European Commission Total (in addition to km maintenance) Note: Most projects were implemented in , very few projects in 2011

This is a GIS based map showing all road projects executed during the period

Achievements in the Road Sector During the period / Cont 2. Accomplishment of a comprehensive database of the road network condition based on GIS programs in 2010 financed by USAID through Chemonics 3. Preparing road standards manuals ( includes Geometric Design Manual, Road Construction Manual, Procurement Manual, and Maintenance Guide) Financed and monitored by USAID/ Chemonics 4. Establishment of three Road Repair Units (RRU) in the three major MPWH directorates (including capacity building, equipment, and others) Financed by USAID/ Chemonics 5. Accomplishment of Roads Guide Signs Project in Ramallah Directorate -as a first phase- Financed By USAID/ Chemonics 6

Impacts of Implemented Projects: Facilitating transportation of road users as a result of constructing new roads or upgrading existing ones Enhancing the road network safety Providing access to several communities with well paved roads instead of dirt or damaged ones Enhancing local and regional trade and social activities Providing Job opportunities to skilled and unskilled workers Establishing a unified professional ground for roads design and construction Founding the bases of a complete Road Maintenance management program Enhancing the capacity of many Engineers and laborers engaged directly or indirectly in the planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of road projects Many Others 7

Current Status Related to the Available Financial Resources In 2012; no road projects were or being implemented. Available resources are very limited; only 7.0million $ were allocated (from the budget) for road projects and maintenance. 8

Urgent Needs for a Proper Enhancing of the Road Sector 1.Legislative Environment: – Policies, strategies, plans and all decisions concerning the road sector shall be based on a firm legal basis – The draft of the Road Law was prepared in 2000, MPWH is working on revising the Law and its regulations (which explain the technical, operational, and legal details necessary to implement the law) in order to be ratified by the Cabinet. – Based on a decision taken by the Cabinet; MPWH is working on drafting the regulations and rules that controls the utilization of roads which are under MPWH jurisdiction by others. Based on that decision any agency shall get a permit from MPWH to the nature and extent of works it is allowed to perform in the roads ROW. 2.Road Rehabilitation Projects: – According to MPWH short-term plan; the Ministry is in a need of 100 million $ for rehabilitating approx 500km of roads in bad condition and 20.6 million $ for road maintenance – MPWH has agreed with USAID in principle to finance the rehabilitation of 38 projects which their documents are ready (with a total length of approx 150km )and wishes that the agency will finance others considering at least the ones whose designs are ready at the agency – Extending the Guide Signs project to other directorates 9

Urgent Needs for a Proper Enhancing of the Road Sector- Cont 3. Capacity Building of the Ministry Staff in addition to Selected Staff from other Ministries and Related Agencies: – The capacity building program shall cover all stages of projects cycle, road management, maintenance performing and management, road condition database updating 4. Road Maintenance Management System (RMMS): – Roads are the biggest public capital asset – Road asset management at strategic level addresses the following questions: What is the current condition of the assets? What is the optimal condition of the assets? What are the annual funding needs and how should this funding be allocated? – RMMS is a maintenance management process aimed at systematically and objectively determining pavement quality and programming maintenance actions in response to observed conditions, budgetary constraints and economic optimization. RMMS is a tool which provides assistance to the maintenance engineer for maintenance programming, implementation, and monitoring 10

Urgent Needs for a Proper Enhancing of the Road Sector- Cont 5. Roads Master Plan (RMP): A comprehensive master plan of the sector is necessary for – Proper Management of the road sector – Enabling laying down of short and long term plans – Determining projects priorities reasonably – Many others A comprehensive Transportation Master Plan including a RMP is proposed to be Financed by EIB 6.Road Fund: Due to the insufficiency and no durability of funds for the road sector; the Ministry is considering the creation of a Road Fund (which is included in the Roads Law) in order to finance the maintenance of the road network. The concept paper for the Fund was prepared and it is envisaged that it will be financed by road user charges and controlled by a mixed board with public and private sector participation. 7.Adopting the Roads Standards -conducted by MPWH and financed by USAID- by the Palestinian Cabinet in order to be the unified reference for road projects to be implemented in the Palestinian territories. The Ministry is working on this with the Cabinet. 8.Updating the road condition database and applying the analysis tools to be able to utilize the data by decision makers. The Ministry staff is currently working on updating the database but the analysis tools need to be applied. This requires funds, additional capacity building of the staff, and the use of external experts at some stages. 7.Updating the feedback system for road projects. The Ministry is working on updating the used feedback system for the projects to cover before, during, and after construction stages. 11

Road Sector Development Challenges The following is a demonstration of some of the major challenges facing developing the road sector: 1.The Israeli polices and procedure (the following are few of many): The construction of the Separation Wall has isolated the Palestinian communities from each other. Enforcing mobility restrictions on the Palestinians and the founding of the “Israeli Only” Roads. This forced the Palestinians to use alternate long and in many cases dirt roads which adversely affected their social and economic lives in addition to the increased travelling costs and time Restraining the Palestinians ability to upgrade roads that lie in area C without their previous consent which in many cases is impossible to get in addition to the inability to construct new routes. Practically, it was noticed that it is much easier for the donors to get the Israeli permission for upgrading roads in area C than the PNA authorities directly. The previous and many others Israeli actions retard the economic and social development and the efficient applicable future planning of the road sector. 2.Lack of sufficient Funds for executing necessary projects and maintaining the network: PNA depends primarily specially for development on external Funds. The road network needs greatly exceed the available funds which causes additional increase in needed funds every year (a road that needs maintenance this year may need rehabilitation after two). 12

Road Sector Development Challenges- Cont 3.Unavailability of a comprehensive Road Master Plan The unavailability of a comprehensive master plan of the sector makes Managing the road sector difficult How future plans serve the national vision for the sector unclear Projects priorities changes continuously as were essentially based on the need at the time Many others 4.Limited role of the private sector in managing and investing in the public road network. This makes the burden of developing the road network lies completely on the public sector. 13

Thank You 14