Principle: For most RAP districts, roads network are still in early stages of development and hence there is little interest or concern about their maintenance. Rather, the priority is on expanding the road network, even if it is done on a piecemeal basis. However, the unavoidable truth is that without maintenance at around 1.5 - 2% of the investment per annum, there is a risk of loosing the investment in 4-5 years. Convincing the GoN institutions and politicians of this argument has been difficult, and hence a maintenance component was introduced in RAPII. It was hoped that a programme of maintenance over a 3-year period of RAPII would help in demonstrating the value of timely maintenance on the network. Over a 3-year period, RAP would provide technical assistance to the road managers (DTO Chiefs and their staff).

Approach and funding: DDCs are responsible for the maintenance of district road network but lack of funding has been the primary constraint cited by the DDCs. RAPII maintenance component provided funds for maintenance on a sliding scale of 100%, 70% and 30% in years 1, 2, and 3 respectively and with the target DDC making up the difference to maintain an unchanging maintenance budget over the 3 years. It was hoped that after the 3 years funding cycle, the target DDCs would be in a position to meet the full cost of annual road maintenance need on their network..