Liberian-Swedish Feeder Roads Project, Phase 3

The overall objective of LSFRP 3 was to improve opportunities for poor people to enhance their living conditions and livelihoods by the provision of sustainable road access. The project purpose was to improve road access which (a) enabled small-scale farmers' access to market more agricultural produce; (b) facilitated all year-round social service delivery particularly in the health and education sectors and (c) created income earning opportunities for young men and women in the rural areas.

LSRFP 3 supported Liberia's transition from post conflict reconstruction to inclusive growth and wealth creation in line with the Government's Agenda for Transformation and for this third phase the focus shifted to the southeast where some of the most poorly connected and poorest counties of Liberia are situated. Here, feeder roads connected communities of small-scale farmers to the functioning road network and helped meet the service delivery, agricultural diversification and inclusive growth objectives set out in the current Economic Stabilization and Recovery Plan (ESRP).

This was done by:

• Rehabilitating 370 kilometres of feeder roads in the counties of Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Maryland, Nimba and River Gee 
• Routine and periodic maintenance of LSFRP 1, 2 and 3 improved roads. About 110 km roads are expected for periodic maintenance and were funded 50 % by Sida and 50% by the coming Road Fund.    
• Improved the capacity in the public and private sectors to rehabilitate and maintain rural roads;
• Supported the government strategy and donor coordination for a nationwide rural roads programme;
• Mitigated potential adverse project impacts from land take, environmental damage and spread of Gender and HIV/AIDS  awareness
•  Developed a robust M&E system

The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) was the implementing Ministry responsible for the planning and design, construction, supervision and maintenance of the road network as well as other public-sector buildings, structures and infrastructure. One of the cornerstones of the LSRFP 3 project was to build the administrative, managerial, and technical capacity of the Feeder Roads Unit (FRU) staff members and other MPW staffs that are directly or indirectly be associated with the work. The Project Finance Management Unit (PFMU) located at the Ministry of Finance, was responsible for financial administration and internal control of the project resources. The project followed the Financial Management System in accordance with National Legislation.

MPW staff were provided training for upgrading their technical and managerial skills for mastering the procurement of local services towards the end of ensuring maximum use of national resources; for managing, supervising and monitoring all physical works; and for supporting and extending the coverage of MPW's ROMAPS.

LSFRP 3 delivered services and training in order to:

Strengthen the functional and operational capacity of the MPW Head, Maintenance Hub and County offices;

Help establish and promote MPW's policies and programmes in Quality Assurance Standards and Norms;

Improve feeder rural road planning and management functions by including social and environmental assessments along with appropriate follow-up activities;

Further develop feeder road standards in the light of project experience;

Help implement contract management systems and improve contract supervision, monitoring and management by county and head office staff;

Plan and manage rural road maintenance;

Assist community-based organisations (CBOs) to become Procurement Entities and manage tender preparation and bidding procedures;

Evaluate and award maintenance contracts;

Carry out maintenance contract management and supervision/monitoring tasks;

Develop and consolidate consultative processes and dialogue with community and interest group primary stakeholders.

In 2021 (LSFRP3) project started a pilot of upgrading 20km of tracks for motorcycle access in Bong County. The pilot was successfull and therefore an extension to the programme was approved for an additional 14 months in order to construct 205km of tracks in Bong, Lofa and Nimba counties in 2022 and early 2023. These works not only provided reliable motorcycle access to settlements but also feed into the national road network increasing vehicle movements and number of roads users on these roads and in many cases adding to the investments already done by LSFRP.