A look beyond Corridor X

A look beyond Corridor X He then proceeds to drive around the next corner and hits a pig. This is, of course, just a joke but it also says something a little less obvious about the road network in Serbia – the poor characteristics of much of the road network in the country, and what that means for the people who use them. The reality is that apart from the motorways and some main roads, much of the road network in Serbia is not in a good shape: a recent survey, supported by the World Bank, found that over half (53 percent) of the entire network was in poor or very poor condition. The comparative proportion of the road network in poor or very poor condition in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is just over one fifth (22 percent). The local road network in Serbia is in even worse condition, with nearly three quarters found to be poor or very poor, the second worst in the South East Europe region. A survey of businessmen, to assess the competitiveness of Serbia, published by the World Economic Forum, found that Serbia was ranked 99th out of the 131 countries surveyed, for the quality of the road infrastructure. A poor road network increases the transport costs for all users, both in terms of the time and money required for all journeys, raising the price of foreign goods in the shops, and reducing the competitiveness of Serbian goods in overseas markets. It is a known that the cost, including additional time, of using a road in poor condition is about three times the cost of using a road in good condition. The poor road network has a further impact on the safety of road users. Serbia has a road safety performance, in terms of the fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles, five times worse than the best performing EU countries, despite recent improvement. It is one of the most awful in the region, with only Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro with higher fatality rates. In absolute terms, over the last ten years about 10,000 people, the population of a small town, have lost their lives on Serbian roads, whilst the population of a small city, nearly 200,000 people has been injured. The Government is now constructing the missing motorways links on Corridor X in Serbia, with the intention to fully integrate the road network in Serbia with the road network of the other countries in the region. These links, when finished, will reduce the cost of transport, and the price of goods in the shops in Serbia, and also reduce the cost of Serbian goods internationally. In addition, the work involved in constructing the missing links have been estimated to create between 5,000-8,000 jobs in the first round, whilst also providing a considerable stimulus to other businesses in Serbia. But the problem goes far beyond just building the missing links on Corridor X in Serbia, welcome though that initiative is, as there is little point in spending huge sums of money to construct new roads, even in times of economic crisis, if the roads are not kept in good condition after they open. What is needed is the reform of the entire road sector to ensure professional management of the road network, and more importantly, to ensure that the money that is raised from road users in tolls and excise duty is spent efficiently and effectively on improving the condition of all roads, rather than diverted to other uses! So, what do we need to do? Firstly, the organization that is responsible for maintaining the road network has to be improved, and provided with the incentives to undertake their responsibilities in the most efficient and effective manner. Wherever possible, it is also better still to use the private sector, and outsource services. Provide the organization with a clear mandate and objectives, and the necessary resources to achieve them, whilst also ensuring that it is accountable both for the use of the resources and any failure to attain the defined objectives. Secondly, provide the organization with the latest tools to allow it to manage the road network in a professional and objective manner; the ongoing Transport Rehabilitation Project in Serbia, financed by the World Bank, has recently completed the preparation of a database that contains details on the characteristics of every main and regional road in Serbia, together with traffic and current condition. This system can be used, in future, to identify those roads that are the higher priority on an economic basis, and prevent money being spent on roads where there is little or no traffic, or other less objective reasons. Thirdly, there needs to be greater willingness to introduce new techniques to try and realize improvements in the quality of maintenance for the same money, or the same level of maintenance for less money. Again the ongoing Transport Rehabilitation Project in Serbia, financed by the World Bank, piloted the use of what is called output based maintenance for winter maintenance in Macva and Kolubara regions between 2004 and 2007. The idea of this approach is that contractors are paid to achieve an output - or in this case, free of snow and ice, rather than the number of hours that employees are standing idly by the side of the road. The result, not surprisingly, was a 50% reduction in the cost of winter maintenance. But despite the success, this approach has still not been rolled out to the other 25 regions of Serbia, let alone for other types of maintenance, including routine and scheduled maintenance, or rehabilitation contracts, as in other countries. The reason is that the regional contractors themselves oppose more widespread introduction – partly out of innate conservatism, partly because they know that they will have to be more professional and they will have to manage their staff and equipment better if they want to stay in business. Finally, there is a need to introduce a comprehensive sector policy and strategy and investment plan, consistent with the resources available, to guide the development of the road network over the next 5-10 years. Only then maybe will the immediate response of the male driver in the opening joke be less hostile and more reflective of what might actually lie around the next corner. Simon Gray is World Bank Country Manager in Serbia The missing highway links: Works on Corridor 10 (Beta) A woman was driving quickly down a hill, with a man driving up in the opposite direction, on a narrow road with poor road markings. They pass each other on a tight corner. As they pass, barely managing to avoid a collision, the woman leans out of the window and shouts ‘pig’, the man immediately responds with an angry: ‘cow!’ Simon Gray "Serbia has a road safety performance, in terms of the fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles, five times worse than the best performing EU countries, despite recent improvement. It is one of the most awful in the region, with only Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro with higher fatality rates."

A look beyond Corridor X

He then proceeds to drive around the next corner and hits a pig. This is, of course, just a joke but it also says something a little less obvious about the road network in Serbia – the poor characteristics of much of the road network in the country, and what that means for the people who use them.

The reality is that apart from the motorways and some main roads, much of the road network in Serbia is not in a good shape: a recent survey, supported by the World Bank, found that over half (53 percent) of the entire network was in poor or very poor condition. The comparative proportion of the road network in poor or very poor condition in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina is just over one fifth (22 percent).

The local road network in Serbia is in even worse condition, with nearly three quarters found to be poor or very poor, the second worst in the South East Europe region. A survey of businessmen, to assess the competitiveness of Serbia, published by the World Economic Forum, found that Serbia was ranked 99th out of the 131 countries surveyed, for the quality of the road infrastructure.

A poor road network increases the transport costs for all users, both in terms of the time and money required for all journeys, raising the price of foreign goods in the shops, and reducing the competitiveness of Serbian goods in overseas markets. It is a known that the cost, including additional time, of using a road in poor condition is about three times the cost of using a road in good condition.

The poor road network has a further impact on the safety of road users. Serbia has a road safety performance, in terms of the fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles, five times worse than the best performing EU countries, despite recent improvement. It is one of the most awful in the region, with only Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro with higher fatality rates. In absolute terms, over the last ten years about 10,000 people, the population of a small town, have lost their lives on Serbian roads, whilst the population of a small city, nearly 200,000 people has been injured.

The Government is now constructing the missing motorways links on Corridor X in Serbia, with the intention to fully integrate the road network in Serbia with the road network of the other countries in the region. These links, when finished, will reduce the cost of transport, and the price of goods in the shops in Serbia, and also reduce the cost of Serbian goods internationally. In addition, the work involved in constructing the missing links have been estimated to create between 5,000-8,000 jobs in the first round, whilst also providing a considerable stimulus to other businesses in Serbia.

But the problem goes far beyond just building the missing links on Corridor X in Serbia, welcome though that initiative is, as there is little point in spending huge sums of money to construct new roads, even in times of economic crisis, if the roads are not kept in good condition after they open. What is needed is the reform of the entire road sector to ensure professional management of the road network, and more importantly, to ensure that the money that is raised from road users in tolls and excise duty is spent efficiently and effectively on improving the condition of all roads, rather than diverted to other uses!

So, what do we need to do? Firstly, the organization that is responsible for maintaining the road network has to be improved, and provided with the incentives to undertake their responsibilities in the most efficient and effective manner. Wherever possible, it is also better still to use the private sector, and outsource services. Provide the organization with a clear mandate and objectives, and the necessary resources to achieve them, whilst also ensuring that it is accountable both for the use of the resources and any failure to attain the defined objectives.

Secondly, provide the organization with the latest tools to allow it to manage the road network in a professional and objective manner; the ongoing Transport Rehabilitation Project in Serbia, financed by the World Bank, has recently completed the preparation of a database that contains details on the characteristics of every main and regional road in Serbia, together with traffic and current condition. This system can be used, in future, to identify those roads that are the higher priority on an economic basis, and prevent money being spent on roads where there is little or no traffic, or other less objective reasons.

Thirdly, there needs to be greater willingness to introduce new techniques to try and realize improvements in the quality of maintenance for the same money, or the same level of maintenance for less money.

Again the ongoing Transport Rehabilitation Project in Serbia, financed by the World Bank, piloted the use of what is called output based maintenance for winter maintenance in Mačva and Kolubara regions between 2004 and 2007. The idea of this approach is that contractors are paid to achieve an output - or in this case, free of snow and ice, rather than the number of hours that employees are standing idly by the side of the road. The result, not surprisingly, was a 50% reduction in the cost of winter maintenance.

But despite the success, this approach has still not been rolled out to the other 25 regions of Serbia, let alone for other types of maintenance, including routine and scheduled maintenance, or rehabilitation contracts, as in other countries. The reason is that the regional contractors themselves oppose more widespread introduction – partly out of innate conservatism, partly because they know that they will have to be more professional and they will have to manage their staff and equipment better if they want to stay in business.

Finally, there is a need to introduce a comprehensive sector policy and strategy and investment plan, consistent with the resources available, to guide the development of the road network over the next 5-10 years. Only then maybe will the immediate response of the male driver in the opening joke be less hostile and more reflective of what might actually lie around the next corner.

Simon Gray is World Bank Country Manager in Serbia