After the end of the Gulf war in 1991, Kuwait has gone through major changes in the population distribution. After the war, about 30-40% decrease in the work force in the country was estimated. This has affected the operation of almost all governmental organizations. The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) reorganized several of its administrations but the Roads Administration (RA) was the most effected. This study was to develop ideas and thoughts about possible reorganization of the current Roads Administration. To link these thoughts to the existing local conditions, visits were conducted with department heads within MPW as well as at Kuwait Municipality (KM) and General Housing Authority (GHA) since they are involved with varied degrees in the road network development and management in Kuwait. Based on information collected about several road agencies around the world and the visits conducted within MPW, KM and GHA, four scenarios are presented: 1) Leave RA as is, 2) Reorganize RA within MPW, 3) Create an independent authority with internal business centers, and 4) Create an independent authority with an internal management directorate that acts as a governmental body, and a production directorate that acts as an internal company for operation. To evaluate the four scenarios, an assessment criteria to measure productivity and efficiency was established. This criteria evaluates performance using concepts of sales and profits in monetarily units (e.g Kuwaiti Dinar or US Dollar), and time units (e.g. working hours). There were no specific recommendations on which scenario should be adopted. However, analysis of advantages and disadvantages of each scenario was performed with regard to the established assessment criteria. (A)
Abstract