TRANSSAHARAN ROAD LIAISON COMMITTEE

STAGE IN TUNIS 16th-29th MAY 2006

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AND STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN ROAD MANAGEMENT IN

A PAPER PRESENTED BY

BY ENGR. A. O. AHIABA DIRECTOR HIGHWAY DEPARTEMENT

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1. INTRODUCTION

Roads are the most flexible and predominant means of transportation. Hence in most countries they account for well over 80% of passenger traffic and haulage. In Nigeria, with the near demise of the Railways and the limited access to the means of air travel, roads have assumed an especially vital infrastructure to the conduct of business and social activity. The well being of the economy and hence the progress of the nation is therefore inevitably tied to the state of our roads. Since over a decade ago, signs have begun to manifest the state of rampant disrepair which Nigerian roads were falling into. Because of the unique role which roads play in the socio- economic activity of most countries, management of roads is an issue that has continued to command the attention of governments, stake-holders and road users all over the world. In the process, most developed countries have carried out extensive reforms in the institutional framework for managing and financing their roads while a large number of developing countries are following suit.

In Nigeria however the story is entirely different. The framework for the management and financing of roads handed over by the colonical masters on their departure in 1960 has remained with us unchanged. Roads have continued to be viewed and treated as exclusively Government-owned property to which the public or the road user may only use but not contribute to its management or funding. The result is that today all Governments across the country are facing severe difficulties and daunting challenges in the provision and maintenance of roads owing to the out-dated nature of the institutional framework which makes it weak and non-responsive with its traditional and sole source of funds – the annual budget – daily becoming too meager and unreliable to finance road projects. For years therefore the attention given to roads and their maintenance has been on the declining side leading to heavy annual losses in their asset value. Meanwhile, in countries where reforms have been carried out and their institutional framework restructured, this tide of huge asset loss has been gradually stemmed.

In the light of our peculiar situation vis-à-vis global realities and trends, it has become imperative to look inwards – and indeed even outwards – in the search for result-oriented reforms. The national road network must meet the NEEDS of Nigerians by helping to create wealth, generate employment and reduce poverty. But to be able to achieve this, the fourth cardinal objective of NEEDS, must be applied, namely changing the way government does its

2 work. It is high time the institutional framework for Managing and Financing roads in Nigeria is changed in order to make it productive, relevant and appropriate. 2. THE ROAD NETWORK Nigeria has a vast network of roads of all classes, types and standards. There are inter-city roads and highways, urban roads, rural roads and feeder roads. Virtually all the public roads are owned by governments across the three tiers which each tier having a network of roads performing defined roles as follows: Federal Government - Primary or Trunk Roads system: This is the arterial route system for the country comprising mainly North-South and East-West roads. They link states and zones in the country thus facilitating dynamism of the economy. State Governments - Secondary Roads system. These link towns and cities in the states with the Trunk Road system and they save to oil the state economy. - Urban Roads: they facilitate intra-city movement and are crucial to socio-economic life in the major cities and state capitals Local Governments- Tertiary or Feeder Roads system: These are vital for connecting villages and small towns and providing for socio- economic activity at the local level. Aside from Urban Roads, the total size (in length) of public roads in Nigeria is over 190,000 kilometres. This system of interconnecting roads is usually referred to as the national road network. The breakdown is as in table below:

Road Network Length (Kilometers) Federal Roads State Roads Local Govt. Roads Total Paved Main Roads 26,500 10,4000 - 36,900 Unpaved Main 5,600 20,1000 - 25,700 Roads Urban Roads - - 21,900 21,900 Main Rural Roads - - 72,800 72,800 Village Access 35,900 35,900 3 Roads Total Percent 32,100 30,500 130,600 193,200 17% 16% 67% 100%

As already stated, all the three tiers of government share in the ownership of Nigeria’s public roads with each government having its own road agency or agencies. Indeed, given the fact that there are 774 Local Governments in the country it means that well over 800 road agencies exist in the country. This is far too many. And without some form of a central or coordinating body the situation becomes chaotic. And that is what it is today. As the life-wire of the country, the road network can be likened to the veins and arteries through which blood is circulated within the body. The arteries represent the Federal (Trunk/Primary) roads while the veins are the State and Local Government (Secondary and Tertiary) roads. The blood flowing through the body is like the economy serving the country’s body fabric. The heart is the central organ that performs the coordinating and regulatory role of moving the blood around. It is this central organ that the motley crowd of Nigeria’s road agencies lack. And as a result, with so many road agencies at different levels of development, sophistication and commitment, the public roads system, as one national network, in unable to efficiently and effectively serve the economy. The comparative use of the network amongst the various classes of roads is indicated in the table below. It shows that the Federal Roads network which represents only 17% of the size of the entire national network, accounts for over 50% of the total road traffic in the country. Thus the Federal Roads network commands a tremendous influence on the national economy. Please see the table below: Use of Network Federal Roads State Roads Local Govt. Roads Share of Network 17% 16% 67% Length Use of Network 50% 25% 25% (vehicle/km) Under the present institutional framework, Federal Ministry of Works (FMW) is responsible for the construction, maintenance and management of Federal Roads. Currently it has an agency (FERMA) assigned solely to handle maintenance. 3. ANTECEDENT REFORM EFFORTS The Nigerian national road network of 193,200 kilometres represents an asset base of about N1, 800 billion (23US Dollars). In a recent study it was established that due to inadequate and inefficient maintenance and rehabilitation of the roads, this huge asset is experiencing a

4 colossal loss of about N3.0bn annually. The scenario of the progressive deterioration of most public roads in the country is no longer a new one. Neither is it entirely a surprise. An out- dated institutional framework for road management as obtains in Nigeria cannot cope with the demands of the present size of the country and its economy. In the course of the last decade, the condition of the Nigerian road network was deteriorating to a crisis situation that could bring the economy to its knees. Arising from this situation, the Federal Ministry of Works at that time put heads together with the World Bank to critically address the situation. Jointly they organized a forum of stake-holders in the road sector to brainstorm on the state of Nigerian Roads and the way to arrest the deterioration. Main stake- holder groups like the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce Industries Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Nigerian Farmers Association (NFA), the Road Transport Owners Association (RTOA), the Road Transport Workers Union (RTWUN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), to mention a few were major participants in this national discourse. The international community was well represented by a number of professionals, company executives and top functionaries of various Road Boards and Authorities. A number of basic issues and problems were identified including the following • A systematic deterioration of the network to the tune of billons of Naira in asset loss per annum. • Most roads need rehabilitation, rather than routine maintenance. • Restoring the existing network to serviceability is beyond the scope of normal budgetary sources • The considerable investment in the road sector representing billions of Naira in asset value is in jeopardy. • Accident rates on Nigerian roads have become one of the highest in the world. • Vehicle Operating Costs are high and ever on the increase due to frequent repairs, extra fuel on longer travel times and more frequent fleet replacement all of which represent huge individual and national losses in billions of Naira. • Too many road agencies-over 800 in number responsible for roads at the Federal, State and Local Government levels i.e. an average of 220km per agency • Poorly motivated staff • Bureaucratic work methods with gross inefficiency. • Non-adherence to proper engineering and procurement procedures resulting in high cost and low quality works. 5 • Insufficient and erratic funding with only as low as 15% of the requirement for road maintenance being allocated at times. • Road Agencies frequently lose part of their allocation to other Government priorities. • Lack of continuity in road management policy destabilizes road maintenance effectiveness. At the end of workshops and seminars the Road Sector stake-holder community came up with a reform agenda christened the Road Vision 2000. Basically, they came to terms with the reality that no government in the contemporary period can meet all the costs of its road programmes from revenue earnings alone and that the burden must now have to be shared with the Road User. In reality roads have now become an economic service which must be paid for on a fee-for-service basis. The basic elements of the Road Vision 2000 Reform Proposal were as follows: Efficient and Effective Sector management through an Autonomous Road Agency – THE NATIONAL ROADS BOARD (NRB) • Involvement of Road Users in the Management of Roads: Stakeholders in the private sector to have majority membership of the NRB. • Securing Adequate and Stable Flow of Funds through a sustainable Road Fund: Setting up of a ROAD FUND to be sourced mainly from petroleum levy. • Allocation of resources for road maintenance to be based on needs and sound economic criteria. • Activities of the ROAD FUND to be subjected to independent technical and financial auditing annually and balance sheets to be published in major national newspapers. • Transparency and efficiency in the procurement of works and services. • Independence from the vagaries of budgetary allocations. • Mobilization of Private Sector financing through concessions. • The ROAD BOARD to be a slim, professional body with highly motivated, well-paid staff. In order to articulate the modalities for the implementation of the foregoing recommendations, the Ministry commissioned the following studies: (a) Framework Study – to work out modalities for establishing the NRB and NRF.

6 (b) Network Study – to determine the investment needed to recover the serviceability of the road network. (c) Concession Study – to determine the viability of road concessions in Nigeria. A stakeholder group, named RV 2000 Steering Committee, and reflecting the planned composition of the NRB monitored the studies conducted by reputable consultants. (The Steering Committee was inaugurated in May 1997, and was engaged in sensitizing stakeholders and the general public on the reforms). According to the result of the Road Network Study, which was undertaken in 1993, an investment of about N300 billion was needed over a ten-year period to bring the national road network into fair or good maintainable condition.

It is not evident that Government understood or took the reform proposals and recommendations seriously. However when the road conditions worsened and public outcry against the rampant devastating condition of federal roads intensified, the Federal Government created the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in 2002 with the sole responsibility to maintain federal roads. The true position today is that while FERMA has been achieving a lot since its establishment the fundamental problems of the Nigerian road sector still remain. Indeed if there is an improvement in the condition of federal roads due to FERMA’s activities, the same cannot be said of State and Local Government roads. The question of institutional reform and the problem of inadequate funding for road programmes are yet to be addressed in a fundamental way. Private Sector Financing for roads is almost totally absent while maximum benefits do not seem to be derivable from donor funding as of yet. The present situation calls for nothing else but to revisit the abandoned ROAD VISION 2000 reform policy package, review and implement it after adapting to present realities or contemporary developments.

4. THE WAY FORWARD It has been established that the governments of the federation cannot finance their road projects and programmes all alone from normal budgetary provisions. In addition, inappropriate institutional framework is a major obstacle to meaningful progress in the road sector. These factors combine to put Nigeria at the bottom of the global list of good Road Managers. The imperatives of a comprehensive Road Reform have become more apparent than ever before. The road must be seen to belong more to the Road User now than to Government 7 while the Private Sector ought to appreciate the huge asset which the road network represents and accordingly seek to invest in it. Roads are indeed a big business. To complete the cycle, Government also should see its new role as shifting from project execution to that of a facilitator by creating and nurturing the ENABLING ENVIRONMENT for Private Sector involvement. In this way the Public-Private Partnership scheme will transform the Nigerian road sector in the shortest possible time. Private Sector partnership typically takes the form of CONCESSIONING using such methods as Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) and Rehabilitate Operate and Transfer (ROT). The Private Sector survives and depends on the profits it makes from its ventures. The profit derived from investing in a road project essentially comes from the Road Tolls to be paid by the Road Users. By simple deduction therefore only roads carrying substantial volumes of traffic can attract investors. These roads form a small fraction of the Federal Roads network, and perhaps an even smaller fraction of state roads. These high profile federal roads are mainly the present dual carriageway roads such as Lagos-Ibadan, Kaduna- Kano or Enugu- Portharcourt and a few North- South or East- West arterial routes such as Badagry- Sokoto, Kano- Maiduguri and Warri-Port-harcourt. In the Federal Highways Act, these roads which form part of the network of original federal roads (then known as Trunk A) are labelled Primary Trunk Roads. They are the ones that will almost certainly enjoy Private Sector investment given their high traffic volumes (in excess of 5000 vehicles per day). Clearly the profitable roads, that is the ones to which the Private Sector will be attracted, will be far less than 17% of the entire network. Yet the remaining bulk of public roads is need for socio-economic activity of Nigerians and must therefore continue to be maintained and managed. This responsibility will rest on the shoulders of the Governments and the Road Users. The best way to handle it is invariably through the establishment of the ROAD FUND as articulated in the ROAD VISION 2000. The Road Fund will be the instrumentability through which the Governments and Road Users can use to play their complementary roles in the management of the bulk of the national road network. In the emerging scenario and in order for the Federal Government to play its role in a relevant and effective way, the reform of the institutional framework for roads should be tackled urgently and decidedly. The Federal Ministries responsible for transportation – in all the three modes – air, land, sea and water – should be restructured to create new ones as follows: • Federal Ministry of Land Transport (FMLT) – to oversee roads and railways • Federal Ministry of Water Transport (FMWT) – to oversee maritime affairs and inland waterways.

8 • Federal Ministry of Air Transport (FMAT) – to continue to do what Federal Ministry of Aviation is doing. Thereafter FMLT, like the present Federal Ministry of Transport and Federal Ministry of Aviation, should be relieved of its executive functions by creating a Federal Roads Authority whose sole duty, as an executing agency , shall be constructing and maintaining federal roads thus leaving the Ministry (FMLT) to concentrate on POLICY issues, supervising and regulating PPP projects, standardization generally and the rest duties of a supervising Ministry. The next step would be the restructuring of the framework for FUNDING. This entails the creation of the autonomous bodies: National Road Fund (NRF) and National Road Board (NRB). With this arrangement, the financing of all public roads not taken up under PPP, be they – Federal, State or Local Government roads – will be sourced from the Road Fund. This will require agreement between the erstwhile road owners – the three tiers of government -on the formula and modalities for fund distribution or project financing. It may be advisable for States to equally establish Road (Executing) Agencies /Authorities and remove them from the Ministries. Local Governments may however continue to use their Works Departments. Relevant legislation may also need to be passed to engender among the stakeholders the needed confidence in the new set up. The NRB will be dominated by private sector stakeholder groups to ensure that the chairman comes from among them thus guaranteeing the required level of autonomy that a modern Road Board requires in order to be effective. All said, in fashioning a suitable model there are many countries around the world, including Africa, who have implemented far-reaching road reforms from which Nigeria can study and be guided. For Private Sector participation in Road Financing, an enabling environment must be provided. Such enabling environment begins with a Legal Framework. In this connection the position is that the reviewed Federal Highways Act is currently being examined by the Federal Ministry of Justice. Action on this should be expedited in order to get the formal approval of the Federal Executive Council before sending it to the National Assembly for passage. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) bill is another relevant law currently with the National Assembly. This too needs expeditious action for passage. With these two laws in place, a legal framework would have been provided. In addition, each concession or privatization or lease as the case may be would still have its own agreement with enforceable terms and conditions covering the project. Finally, the most crucial step needed to be taken in the way forward is to appoint as was done in the Road Vision 2000 period, a Steering Committee which will be representative of the 9 proposed NRB. The duties of the Steering Committee are to supervise the reforms until all proposed bodies and institutions are created. The Committee to be known as the Road Reform Steering Committee is to be appointed by the President on the recommendations of the Hon. Minister of Works. It composition should not deviate from the representative character of the proposed NRB. 5. MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC GOALS OF FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS As part of the on-going national reforms, the Budget Office in its effort to assist key Ministries in their budget process and in addressing the key goals of NEEDS and MDG assisted Federal Ministry of Works some time during the year to draft a Medium Term Strategy or Medium Term Expenditure Framework for the period 2006 – 2008. The overall objective of that exercise was to: • Prepare a detailed strategy document that clearly articulates the medium term goals and objectives of the Ministry against the background of the overall goals and objectives of NEEDS and MDGs. • Specify the key initiatives the FMW intends to embark on in order to achieve its goals and objectives. • Detail the entire resources required to pursue the initiatives by: - detailing the cost implication of each initiative - setting priorities and - organizing the initiatives into phases over the next 3 years. In preparing its Medium Term Strategy the Ministry was guided by key strategic drivers of the NEEDS philosophy, namely Empowering People, Changing the Way Government Works and Private-Public Sector Participation. Accordingly the goals defined for the Ministry for a medium-term time frame spanning 2006 - 2008 are as follows: 1. Encourage private sector initiation and participation in the provision of infrastructure using methods such as Build Operate and Transfer (BOT), Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT), Rehabilitate Operate and Transfer (ROT) as well as concessioning. 2. Increase the development impact of the Ministry/s capital spending by concentrating efforts on completion of projects of high potential economic impact the are already well advanced, and give more systematic attention to cost benefit analysis in the selection of new starts to conform with MTEF projections.

10 3. Improve the coverage, quality and efficiency of the maintenance of federal roads so as to ensure that the roads are all in good or fair condition. 4. Implement institutional reforms to establish a Federal Road Authority (FRA) as an autonomous agency accountable to the Ministry of Works for handling all aspects of road management using current internationally accepted best practices. 5. Continue to seek reduction in real terms of the costs of Road Works and Road transport. 6. ACTION PLAN There is a demonstrable commitment on the part of the Federal Government to the Public Private Partnership approach for accelerating infrastructural development in Nigeria. Some state governments are already equally embracing the concept. In the road sector there are great potentials for a very successful PPP regime. The Cabinet Steering Committee should now chart the shortest course for putting in place all the legal, technical and economic framework needed to enable the first PPP road project start in the shortest possible time. In addition to an appropriate framework, a Steering Committee should be constituted to oversee the entire Road Reform Agenda. This way the PPP scheme would have been put in place to handle high profile roads while the remaining roads in the national network would be vested in the Road User and financed through the Road Fund The following is a plan of Action for discussion: S/No Description of Activity Target Date of Remarks Accomplishment 1. Appointment of a Road Reform Steering This will be a shadow NRB. It Committee which will oversee the will have a chairman and 4 other reform implementation and the birth of members from Private Sector the NRF and the NRB Stakeholder groups, 3 Federal Govt. representatives and a Secretariat to be domiciled in 31 st Nov.-31 st Dec’ 2005 the Ministry( FMLT) - Composition to be recommend to the President by Hon. Minister of Works.

Passage of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Bill by the National Assembly. 2.

11 Singing the ICRC Act into law by Mr. President. 31 st December,2005

Vetting of the revised Federal Highway Act by the Federal Ministry of Justice 31 st January, 2006 3. and submission to the National Assembly.

Debate of the Highway Act by the 4. National Assembly.

Passage of the Highways Act by the National Assembly. 15 th December,2005

Signing the revised Federal Highway Act into law by Mr. President. 5. 15 th Dec’-31 st Jan. 2006 Submission of a memorandum to the National Assembly for restructing FERMA into a full-fledged Federal 28 th February,2006 6. Roads Authority.

Restructuring of the transport Ministries into FMLT, FMWT and FMAT 15 th March, 2006 7. by the President . Federal Ministry of Works through the President States to create their own Road Executing Agencies. 8. Road Reform Steering Committee to 31 st Nov.-15th Dec’ 2005. The Presidency sensitize State Governments and Private Sector Stakeholders and organize at least three basic Road Studies. 31 st Nov.– 31 st Dec’2005 FMLT to draw out Comprehensive 9. Guidelines for Inspection and Performance Measurements on PPP 1st Jan.-31 st March 2006 projects detailing the role of public sector engineers in the PPP scheme.

10. At least 1 No pilot PPP project to be advertised by FMLT.

12 Pre-bid meetings to be arranged by 11. FMLT with potential bidders/ 1st Jan.-31 st March 2006 promoters.

12. 1st Jan.-31 st March 2006

1st May, 2006

13. 21 st May, 2006

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7. POTENTIAL PPP PROJECTS FOR NIGERIAN ROADS Based on our experience in the management of federal roads, a number of road and bridge projects can be identified as potential PPP projects which can be executed under the scheme as soon as it takes off. For a number of them proposals have already been received from potential promoters. The list includes the following: a) Roads previously tolled : - Lagos – Ibadan dual carriageway road - Shagamu – Benin dual carriageway road - – Enugu dual carriageway road - Enugu – Aba – Portharcourt dual carriageway road - Ibadan – Ife dual carriageway road - Abuja – Kaduna dual carriageway road - Kaduna – Kano dual carriageway road - Lagos – Otta road - River Niger Bridge at Jebba 13 - River Niger Bridge at Kotonkarfi - River Niger Bridge at Onitsha/Asaba - River Benue Bridge at Yola/Jimeta - River Benue Bridge at Numan - River Benue Bridge at Makurdi - Cross River Bridge at Itu b) New Projects : - at Onitsha - River Benue Bridge at Loko/Bagana - Abuja – – Benin road - Kano – Maiduguri road - Lagos Outer Ring road - East – West Road: Warri – Portharcourt - Keffi – Akwanga – Jos road - Kano – Kazaure – Kongolam road - River Benue Bridge at Ibi

8. SCOPE OF WORKS AND SERVICES FOR THE CONCESSIONAIRE The essence of concessioning in infrastructure provision and maintenance is to ensure the highest level of serviceability. The main duties and responsibilities of the concessionaire include but may not be limited to: i. Restoration of the road to serviceable condition or provision of a new road. ii. Routine/Normal maintenance of the road infrastructure. iii. Periodic Maintenance/Pavement Strengthening. iv. Provision and Maintenance of road furniture: - Pavement/lane markings - Road signs - Kilometer posts - Bridge/culvert makers - Guard-Rails v. Provision, operation and administration of Modern Toll Plazas/Support Service Centres: - Toll Collection Booths - Motor Vehicle Filling Station/Service Centres - Supermarkets/Relaxation Centres

14 - Clinics - Police Post - Road Safety/Vehicle Recovery Post - Weighbridge Station vi. Telecommunication/Automobile Service - Telephone Points - Mobile Mechanics 9. TECHNICAL AND POLICY GUIDELINES FOR EXECUTION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP(PPP) PROJECTS UNDER FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WORKS (FMW) A. Identification of Projects - Identifying major highways and bridges (both proposed and existing) with high potential for PPP, attaching necessary basic technical details. - Estimating the cost of feasibility study and engineering design. - Budgeting for the Consultancy Services for proposed PPP projects. B. Federal Executive Council (FEC) Approval/Endorsement Submission of list of projects to FEC for approval, with following attachments: - basic technical description/characteristics. - tentative technical assessment of the viability of the project. - comments as to whether same project is being considered under Donor or Multi- lateral finding. - comments on the financial budgetary provision made by the Ministry for the feasibility studies and engineering design of the project. c. Pre-Contract Work On obtaining approval of FEC for a PPP project, the Department of Highway Planning and Design will commence work as follows: • Advertising for Expression of Interest (EOI) from consultants wishing to design or carry out pre-contract consultancy services for the PPP project. • Receipt of EOI and selection of Consultants • Commissioning of consultants for traffic studies, feasibility studies, engineering design, etc. • Supervision of consultancy work, vetting designs and approval of same and submission of all relevant documents by consultant to FMW.

15 The entire pre-contract work up to submission of sets of bidding documents to the Ministry should last between 6-12 months depending on the size of the project. D. Bid Advertisement for Selection of Project Promoter/Concessionaire • Advertisement for the pre-qualification of project promoters or concessionaries. • Selection and notifying pre-qualified bidders • Issuance of PPP project bid documents to pre-qualified bidders. • Analysis of bids and selection of successful bidder(concessionaire)

E. Project Take- Off • Signing of Concession Agreement • Handing Over of Site to Concessionaire • Commencement of Construction or Repair Works • Completion of Civil Works • Launching of PPP facility • Commencement of Toll Fare Collections. F. Monitoring, Performance Measurements, Certification, etal In the emerging scenario it shall be the duty of Federal Ministry of Works to manage all PPP projects for the development and operation of federal roads and bridges. This duty which shall specifically fall on the Department of Highway Planning and Design generally consists of monitoring , performance measurements, certification , research and analysis, etc. They include, but are not limited to the following: • Establishment of long-range physical plan for road. development and periodic reviews. • Project conceptualization. • Preparation of tender documents • Specifications and standards setting. • Review of design codes, materials specifications, etc. • Evaluation of tender bids. • Development of performance standards. • Monitoring and enforcement of performance standards. • Impact analysis of PPP policy and projects. • Competence assessment of registered PPP private firms. • Maintaining data bank on PPP private firms. • Maintaining data bank on public roads.

16 • Evaluation of trends in user behaviour and predicting responses to road user charges and service quality. • Research and development in key are as such as: - materials characterization and specifications. - design standards and their effects an safety and operational efficiencies. - environmental issues and other local concerns. - traffic management and control mechanisms, strategies and their effectiveness. 10. CONCULUSION In conclusion emphasis should be laid on speed in the current efforts at reforms. It is no longer in doubt that Nigeria has lagged far behind the global trend in road sector development. And the consequential non-responsiveness of its road management institutions is manifesting in unabated dilapidation of the road infrastructure. More than ever before, the political will to effect the needed reform actions is now evident on the part of the Federal Government. As the enabling environment is being put in place, effort should also be concentrated on the vital area of bringing the Road User on board the reform train. Thank you.

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