The extensive road networks of Latin America and the Caribbean , valued at over 350 billion US$, show alarming signs of neglect and decay. More than 16 billion US $ are being wasted annually due to the absence of adequate road maintenance. Individual countries in the region are losing between 1% and 3% of their annual GNP due to an unnecessary increase in vehicle operating costs and loss of road asset value alone. This devastating situation is not only true for Latin American countries, but can be found in other developing countries and some developed nations as well. The prevailing financial and institution system of road maintenance has been clearly identified to be at the root of the problem.In most of these countries an adequate flow of funds cannot be se-cured by the general budgeting financing procedure. In addition, the rules and regulations of the public administrative system do not allow for an effective and efficient management of road maintenance. As it is unlikely that under the prevailing system substantial and sustainable improvements can be made a new approach is necessary to eradicate this problem, A new public-private partnership in financing and managing road maintenance can provide an adequate solution. The two basic principles of such an approach are to put road maintenance on a fee-for-service basis and to transfer road maintenance management from a "government ministry environment" to a "company environment". The article provides a guideline for such a reform. Various alternatives are being discussed for securing sufficient and stable flow of funds for road conservation, for providing an adequate institutional framework to manage road maintenance on a national, state and local level, and for physically managing whole road networks in an effective and efficient manner. It furthermore gives examples of "good practice" based on experiences in New Zealand, Australia, and several Latin American and African countries. (A)
Abstract