The demand for road transport in the countries of the Asian and Pacific region has increased at a greater rate than that of economic growth. After two decades of robust growth, road infrastructure is reaching capacity in many corridors. Over the decade to 2010 it is estimated that US$700 billion will be required for new or expanded road networks in the region. Government budgets are already stretched with competing demands from other sectors and are unlikely to be able to provide sufficient resources to meet road sector requirements. Official development assistance can only provide a very small proportion of the overall resources required. As a consequence additional resources will need to be sourced from the private sector and other non-traditional sources, and user charges increased. The establishment of a road fund should be examined as a possible means of raising resources from road users. Another important issue concerns the need to introduce institutional reforms in public sector road management organisations to induce greater competition, efficiency and accountability. The introduction of commercial business practices and the involvement of road users in the decision making process requires institutionalising if road organisations are to be operated in line with the market. Road safety is a major issue in all countries and there is an urgent need to tackle the excessive accident rates and reduce the carnage currently observed on the region's road networks. (A)
Abstract