Report Number ::: ICRRICRR1389813898 ICR Review IEG Independent Evaluation Group Public Disclosure Authorized 1. Project Data: Date Posted ::: 05/01/2014 Country::: Uruguay Project ID ::: P057481 Appraisal Actual Project Name ::: Transport Project Costs (((US$M(US$MUS$M):):):): 100 104.4 Infrastructure Maintenance And Rural Access LLL/L///CC Number::: L7303 LoanLoan////CreditCredit (((US$M(US$MUS$M):):):): 70 68.1 Sector Board ::: Transport Cofinancing (((US$M(US$MUS$M):):):): 0 0 Cofinanciers ::: GTZ Board Approval Date ::: 06/09/2005 Public Disclosure Authorized Closing Date ::: 07/31/2011 07/31/2011 SectorSector((((ssss):):):): Roads and highways (92%); Central government administration (3%); Ports waterways and shipping (3%); Sub-national government administration (2%) ThemeTheme((((ssss):):):): Trade facilitation and market access (33% - P); Rural services and infrastructure (17% - S); Regional integration (17% - S); Infrastructure services for private sector development (17% - S); Injuries and non-communicable diseases (16% - S) Prepared by ::: Reviewed by ::: ICR Review GroupGroup:::: Coordinator ::: Kavita Mathur Roy Gilbert Christopher David IEGPS1 Nelson 2. Project Objectives and Components: Public Disclosure Authorized a. Objectives: The project's development objective was to upgrade the country's transport infrastructure to a condition that facilitates the transportation of freight and passengers at a cost-efficient level of service (Loan Agreement Schedule 2, p 26 and PAD, p. 11). b.Were the project objectives/key associated outcome targets revised during implementation? No c. Components: The cost table by components in Annex 1 of the ICR is incomplete. Its figures refer to the Bank Loan amount per components. Actual full cost by component is not presented in the ICR. The project team provided IEG with the cost data. Component 1: Transport Infrastructure Rehabilitation (appraisal estimate US$ 44.6 million; actual cost US$61.0 million). This component entailed carrying out reinforcement, replacement, and Public Disclosure Authorized rehabilitation works of strategic transport infrastructure, including international Mercosur corridors, linking economic poles with export markets or providing transfer terminals for key economic activities. This component was subdivided into three sub-components: Road department Direccion Nacional de Vialidad (DNV) managed routes consisting of: (a) reinforcing the pavement structure of about 35 km of roads on national Route 3 and Route 8; and (b) 20 km between Rio Tacuari-Cafiada Santos on national Route 18. Corporacion Vial del Uruguay (CVU) managed routes and bridges consisting of: reinforcing the pavement structure of 24 km on National Routes 1, 2 and 3 and carrying out reconditioning works consisting of strengthening, widening or replacing existing structures of 20 bridges located on routes 1,5, 6, 7, 8, 21, 26, 28, 30 and 200 (Interbalnearia route) and the access to Montevideo. Transfer terminal rehabilitation, involving minor infrastructure rehabilitation works on eligible terminals, playing an important role in industrial and traditional fishing, tourism and freight and passenger transfers. Component 2: Road rehabilitation and maintenance (CREMA) contracts (appraisal estimate US$ 24.85 million; actual cost US$18.0 million). This component entailed carrying out the rehabilitation and maintenance of six road sub-networks covering an estimated 981 km of national roads through performance based CREMA contracts. Component 3: Departmental road rehabilitation and maintenance (appraisal estimate US$ 20.6 million; actual cost US$23.0 million). This component entailed carrying out the rehabilitation and maintenance of eligible annual departmental sub-projects executed by participating Departmental Governments and partially funded by the DNV through an annual performance based agreement. The departmental road maintenance program considered under the project included the yearly routine maintenance of approximately 9,000 km of gravel roads, during at least two years. Component 4: Transport Infrastructure and safety program (appraisal estimate US$ 3.8 million; actual cost US$1.9 million). This component included low-cost measures and investments to increase road safety, including roads passing through urban areas and the acquisition of road safety elements. Component 5: Transport sector management and institutional building (appraisal estimate US$ 5.8 million; actual cost US$0.15 million). This component included technical assistance support to enhance transport infrastructure management, involving: (i) assisting Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) in the preparation of its transport infrastructure plan for 2005-2009; (ii) training for capacity building and provision of new tools; (iii) strengthening infrastructure management at departmental level; (iv) assisting MTOP in the preparation of an urban transport program for Montevideo; and (v) feasibility studies of the Montevideo ring road and access roads project. d. Comments on Project Cost, Financing, Borrower Contribution, and Dates: Project Cost. As previously noted the cost table by components in Annex 1 of the ICR is incomplete, the figures refer to the Bank Loan amount. Therefore, the actual project cost at completion is unavailable. The project team provided IEG with the cost data which was US$104.4 million. The overall cost overrun is about US$4.4 million was covered by Uruguay’s own resources. Financing. The actual loan disbursed was US$68.1 million compared to the appraisal estimate of US$70 million. Borrower Contribution: The Borrower's actual contribution was US$30 million. Dates . The project closed on time. 3. Relevance of Objectives & Design: a. Relevance of Objectives: Rated high . The project objectives are in line with the recently approved Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for the period 2010 - 2015. The second pillar of the CPS called "Competitiveness and Infrastructure" focuses on the improvement of the condition of key land transport infrastructure as well as improvement in the institutional capacity in the MTOP to carry out transport planning. The project objective remains highly relevant to current country priorities as Uruguay is aiming to become a regional logistics hub for South America. By reducing transportation costs, removing infrastructure bottlenecks to improve regional integration and trade, modernizing MTOP and promoting participation of the private sector in road maintenance, the project objectives were directly aligned to Bank and country priorities. b. Relevance of Design: Rated substantial . The results framework linked inputs to expected outputs and outcomes in a logical causal chain. The project's components focusing on the transport infrastructure rehabilitation are fundamental in restoring the service levels of strategic transport infrastructure, whose condition constrain the efficient provision of transport services, in particular, the transit of heavier and larger trucks. The project components including reinforcement, replacement, and rehabilitation of strategic transport infrastructure, including international Mercosur corridors; rehabilitation and widening of bridges; improving the access to Montevideo are critical for linking economic poles with export markets. These improvements would result in cost-efficient level of service through vehicle operating cost savings and reduction in travel time. 4. Achievement of Objectives (Efficacy): To upgrade the country's transport infrastructure to a condition that facilitates the transportation of freight and passengers at a cost -efficient level of servic e: rated substantial . Outputs About 130 km of national highways were rehabilitated; About 430 km of paved national roads were maintained; On the Road rehabilitation and maintenance (CREMA) contracts, only half of the six contracts foreseen by the PAD were actually undertaken under the project. Many of the other envisaged works were carried out through other sources of financing; All 19 departments fully implemented the roads maintenance program. Approximately 9,000 km of departmental roads were maintained yearly. Around 6% to 13% of these roads are still in poor condition (compared to the 10% target); The number of kilometers of national roads compliant with Mercosur standards has remained constant since the 2005 baseline at 1287 km compared to the target of increasing it to 1400 km.; 5 bridges on Mercosur corridors were upgraded; and Institutional strengthening activities, focusing on transport planning and road management were carried out. The strategic planning tool and the financial management system were updated. Outcome As discussed in Section 10a below, the outcome indicators measured the condition of the entire 8,700 km of the Uruguay’s national road network, although the project supported only fractions of the national road network through the rehabilitation of 130 km and maintenance of 430 km. Therefore, changes in the condition of the entire network will have other non-project causes and the overall results cannot be exclusively attributed to this operation. The ICR nevertheless reports (p. 13) that the percentage of the national road network in bad condition as determined by the Road Condition Index declined from baseline 29.5% in 2005 to 22.3% in 2010 better than the 25% targeted by the project. The opening of National Route 8 to international traffic (trucks loaded to Mercosur standards) required the upgrading of 3 bridges. Two of these bridges (Arroyo Corrales