RESTRICTED Report No. PTR-15a This report was prepored for use within the Bank and its afrillate orgunizutions. They do not accept responsibility for its accuracy or completeness. The report may not be pubiished nor moy it be quoted as representing their views. INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION A T Tn T' A T C A T 0 Tr A HIGHWAY ENGINEERING PROJECT I' UNISIA rMaayion 12, 1969 T ransportation Pr-ojects Departrment fely I.T.m4 T. t (iVi US$1 - D o.525 F1 scal f 'are Ju'y to r s W qJà.u/ 30 ZuiuLUU l* t:b C%-- 1J1.Jà -4 J 7 41 Vaa.w..ietêr ()O£.0 lleB (iL) 1 meter (m) 3-28 feet (f) i hectare (ha) 2*47 acres (ac) 1 liter (1) - 0.22 im. gallon8 = 0.26 galions (US) 1 metric ton (m ton) - 2,204s pounda (Ibs) ABBREVILTIONS - ACRONYMS BCE iU tsai IUUr' il .l U.C UvU Urp op.rtlun IUI uranl- portation development in Tunisia. In 1964 and 1968 loans of US$7.0 and 8.5 million equ:iv±lent respect veLy (38U-1uîî anc 573-TuN) were made for port development. Construction of the project financed by the 1964 loan was satisfactorLly cû,upletied in November 1967; work under tne 1960 loan is pro- ceeding on schedule. A railway project involving a loan and credit of ub; i million in total was approved by the Board of Executive Directors on April 29, 1969. 1.04 '-siS appraisal report is based on the findings and recomnendations of the Italconsult transport survey, information obtained from the Govern- ment and the French consultants BCEOM, and the findings of the December :L968 Bank mission consisting of Messrs. H. Young and F. Soges (engineers) and L. Pouliquen (economist). 2. BACKGROUND A. General 2.01 Tunisia, with an area of 164,000 km2, or about one-quarter that of France, is bordered by the Merdite-rranean to the north and east, Algeria to the west, and Libya to the south and southeast. Its population is about 4.5 million and is increasing at 9.3% p a= The average population density of 27 inhabitants per km2 is low because of the large areas of inhospitable molntains and deserts. In the north, partiirlarly in the Tuis area. where economic activity is largely concentrated, the population density is con- siderabl above ~ the t oal average. 2.02 Lile gross natiornl product (GN.aTP) grew by about % annually between 1960 and 15967; in the latter year it amounted to US$963 mil:Lion, or US$215 per capita. Agriculture contributed about 18% to o-N, but provided about one-half of total employment. The principal agricultural products are cereals, olives, vegetables, citrus fruit, grapes and wirne. The share cf agriculture has been declining as mining, manufacturing and tourism have grown more r-apidLy in recent years. Tunisia!s f'irst oil ref'inerxy was opened in 1963. A steel plant began production in 1964. Further industrialization, particularly light manufacturing, is being encouraged. Tle gro-wng volume of tourists has stimulated building corntruction and associated activities. Tne principal sources of foreign exchange earnings are tourîsm and phos- phate. B. Transport System 2.03 The contribution of transport to the GNP has increased from about 6% in 1964 to about 7.5% in 1968, indicating the growing importance of the sector. IrL view of the higher than average growth of mining and tourismi, which are two of the main generators of traffic movement, the rate of growth of the transport sector is expected to be about 8% a year, or higher than that of the GNP itself at about 67% a year. 2.o4 IUpon achievement of independence in 1956, Tunisia inherited an extensive transport system to which there have only been modest additions over the past decade. Wiith a coastline of about 1,200 km, the country has four major commercial ports: Tunis-La Goulette, Bizerte-Menzel Bourguiba, Sfax and Sousse. Construction of a new deepwater port at Gabes for phos- phate, the country's largest single export, started recently. The railway network is about 2,000 km long and is essentially used for bulk shipments. The main Uine extends from Bizerte in the north to Gabes in the south; five east-west links connect the main line and major seaports with phos- phate and iron ore mining centers in the west and with Algeria. 2.o5 An extensive road network of more than 15,000 km, over half of which is bituminous paved, radiates from Tunis, the capital, and intercon- nects the reeions. The relatively high density of roads is in contrast with their generally poor condition. HTany roads are becoming inadequate for the growing traf fi especialiv i:n the northeastern part of the country - 3 - where there is a continuing rapid growth of agricultural and tourist acti- vity. 2.06 In the recent past, low priority was given to highway construction and maintenance which is reflected in the relatively low budgetary alloca- tions over the past years (see Table 1). This policy has resulted in an obvious backlog of maintenance, and congestion is also beginning to develop on the roads carrying the highest traffic. If not taken care of now, the situation could lead to a further deterioration of the roacis and a rapid increase of congestion which would seriously hamper the economic develo:p- ment of the country. This is particularly true of some of the roads whic'h link rich agricultural areas with the main consumption center of Tunis, and which serve rapidlv growing tourism. 9207 The corunntmr has three internationnl airports and about 30 small airfields. Internal air transport is insignificant. Improvements of the international airports which are now 1inderi1iae should prnui sifficient capacity to accommodate the fast growing tourist and other internationa'L traffic t1hroug1h190 ri. Transport1 POol-c-es an-' Coord.a+1--orn 2 .08 The Goverr,ein exercises strong ols ove whole transport sector. Approval of tariffs, licensing of routes, allocation of comiodities, U. s tribution ofL innest.-,lenùs, appropr-a-ti,'ons of forei_gn exchange- -and t-axa- tion are all instruments of governmnent control. Investment and policy de- c.iwlois 1- £ve been taik-en largely on an ad 'oc basis, frequently quate economic analyses. 2.09 Fortunately, the absence of coordinated planning has not so far resuited in a substantiai distortion of traffic allocation among the various modes. In the case of the ports and railways the major weaknesses concern tariffs and railway subsidies, which are being progressively cor- rected under the port and railway projects. In road transport, the key issue of reorganizing the trucking industry is under study by the Goernu - ment. In general the Government is pragmatic in granting or tolerating exceptions to the more restrictive regulations. Transport policies are being further investigated by the Bank in connection with the review of Tunislais 1969-72 four-year development plan. The Bank will then consuit with the Governnent and agree in mid 1969 on economic policy and measures including transport policy which will form a condition of future lending operations in the transport sector. D. Highway Organization 2.10 The Directorate of Public Works (DPW) under the Department for Public Works and Housing is responsible for the highway system. It has central divisions in Tunis for planning, engineering, construction, main- tenance and equipment, and 16 regional divisions in the provinces. Authoritv over highway operations is highly centralized with the Chief Engineer aif the DP., who is also in charge of airports and of minor sea- ports. Hiph nositions are filled by a capable and devoted staff; how- ever, there is a shortage of specialized personnel below management le,?'eli 2.11 The DPW has a large departmental construction force including an equipment -pool, estimated at US$12 million, which has capacity for substan- tial civil engineering works but is not fully utilized. A large part of the equipmient was obtained recently through USAID financing. Equipment maintenance and repair is centralized in the DPW's large shops in Tunis,, which are run efficientlv. This is in contrast with the small and inade- quately equipped shops of the regional divisions. E. Highwa_y Phaintellance 2.12 Highray maintenance is carried out by the DPW's central maintenance units and -the regionAl di viions, but hns been neglected over the past years and the condition of the highway system has progressively deteriorated. There are !everal reasons for this Although th eq uipmen+ pool is a4.pe) a large part of it is of heavy construction type unsuitable for maintenance. The rate o:F utilizationof the equipment iS low because of insufficien.t op= erating funds and long delays in repairs due to shortage of spare parts. T.he rea onll iwvin '1 ck sufficie,-4. -ech-4Cal persorLrel an-'fwnds aIid personnel officially allocated to highway maintenance are often divertedl to other tasks in many cases noL- Lgl,wday works. 2.13 Consultaants, BCEOM (France) have car-ried ou' a study of a region- al pilot d:Lvision with a view to improving the maintenance organization.. Thç,e consultants recommtiend sweeping changes including decentralization of smaller equipment repairs, an increase of the technical personnel of the regiorvl divisions, a clear definition of functions and lines of authori-ty, the introduction of cost accounting, and the execution of betterment works as part of the maintenance operations. The conclusions clearly establi'sh the need for a nationwide reorganization of highway maintenance. The de- tailed planning of this needed reorganization will be one of the major tasks of the consultants who will prepare the highway maintenance program under the proposed engineering project (see para. 3.05). F. TigI}-ay Construction 2.Lù Traditionally, highway construction was executed in Tunisia by departmental forces. However, the DPW's forces will be able to meet only a part of the construction program envisaged in the coming years, and the Governnent has agreed that the road and bridge works in the future con- struction proJect will be let to contract on the basis of international competitive bidding in accordance with the Bank's usual procedures. The maintenance and betterment works wculd be executed by departmental forces, or let to local contract. During negotiations for the engineerirg loan assurance was obtained from the Government that the above procedures will be followecl in the event of the Bank financing the construction project. 2.15 l'he Governnent is proposing to convert a part of the DPW's forces into an autonomous public enterprise for construction works (Societe Nationale dles Travaux Publics) and intends to prequalify it for international competitive bidding for Bank Group projects. The Governmen-t has been asked to submit to the Bank the proposal suecifvinp the details of the constiî±ion of the entc-rprise, and to establish the enterprise only aftesr agreement is reached.- Th1--le Bmrdrl's vravder f,vor a,.ee.ent woul inld 4mn others an independent external auditing of the enterprise, and the supervision of , t,., ic v,j. v4.4 4 sw..4jJt by coi..s./il_-Ivar.uOs on T3 ra-i'. proJectLs. IL estabulished satls factorily, the enterprise would probably only qualify for relatively small cor.t'Uractus,ybecause of4th 'l-te e --rie -c of' Lhe D-vt forces. -The - ~4JÂU~ OL, LCL~Uae L u £.LILLL,C;U Cp±.~ V.L unet- JJrW ,J ±u.reeUb £ ne Bank has also stressed that formation of the enterprise should not weaken 1it: IlLu.±±lltUI:luxue Ul galui±ubioul uy udKL[lg oUvr i b equipmlenb aiu peUI'ULIu1.L. The consultants who will prepare the highway maintenance program will aiso deternLine which part of the DvPW's equipment should be assigned per- manently to the maintenance organization. During loan negotiations the Governnent gave assurance that before the national construction company is formed, its articles of agreement will be agreed with the Bank, and that an adequate amount of DPW equipment will be retained for the highway maintenance organization. 3. THE ENGINMEERING PRûJTECT A. Description 3.01 The proposed project consists of: (i) the detailed engineering, includirg the economic analysis of design options, and -the preparation o" tender documents and cost estimates of - (1) five primary road secticns (267 km in total length); (2) two secondary road sections (75 km in total length); and (3) 16 bridges and 41 culverts (see Map and Table 2); (ii) the preparation of a highway maintenance and betterment program, including the improvement of the highjway main- tenance organization. Detailed Engineering of Roads and Bridges 3.02 Ihe list of the roads in the proposed project is based on the reconstruction and improvement program recommended in the Italconsult trans- port survey. All roads to be engineered are on trunk routes radiating from Tunis to Enfidaville-Kairouan, Pont du Fahs, Beja, Korba and Nabeul (for details, see Table 2). Although these roads are paved and in general have fair standards, improvements are reauired in manv places to correct curves, profiles and cross sections, to provide adequate drainage, to improve visi- bility and to realign short sections which are winding or periodically flooded. The weakest point of the roads is the pavement structure which is over age and is breaking under present traffic. The pavement will re- quire substantial rehabilitation and upgrading. 3.03 The detailed engineering will follow broadly the recommendations of the transport survev. However, the exact scope of th-e works, including the design standards and timing, must be determined specifically for each road section, on the basis of an inependent- economic evaluation by the engineering consultants. The design standards which will be defined in the course of the engineering of the project could likely serve as a basis for establishing general guidelines for road design in Tunisia. 3.0ù The list of the bridges and culverts in the proposed project is based on a survey carried out byr BCEOM in 1968 (see Table 2). lne bridges and culverts are destined to replace structures which have already collapsed or have insufficient load ^apacity and/or dimensions. They are spread over various roads other than those included for engineering. - 7 - Preparation of a Higlway 1aintenance and. Betterment Program 3.05 Under the proposed highway maintenance and betterment program the recuamendations of the BCHCI pilot study will be applied to the entire net- work. The program will be for the three-year period 1970-72 and its pre- paration iE included in the prcposed engineering project. The terms of reference for consultants for the program preparation include the definition Oa day-to-dÉla maintenance requirementsy the identification and classifica- tion in ortera of priorities of the road sections which need betterment, the formulatiorn of proposals for the strengthening of the maintenance organiza- tion to meet its tasks, including the training of personnel and the intro- duction of cost accounting, the determination of the part of the existing equipment wehich should be permanently assigned to maintenance and of new equipment and facilities which should be acquired (see para. 2.15), and the recommendation of a program of action with a financial plan. Durinîa loan negotiations the Goverrnent undertook to discuss with the Bank the consultants' recommendations, and on this basis aeree on a proeram whicl could form part of the expected construction project (see para. 3.08). B. Cost Estimates 3.06 The estimated cost of engineering services, including the foreign exchange component. is based on recentlv negotiated draft contraets with consultants, and is as followsc: uJS$1 j (lno B 1,0% equivalent Pnrniban Tnca T rotal Foreign Local Total Detailed engineering, roads 286 119 1o5 c>r oi 7 Detailed enrineering, h ridges 92 5R iCn Vr 110 285 Ma intenanGe progrann preparation 62 Li fl< US 90e 20 5 Totbis td'O 225 665 835 L4 CL ouneIIPA ff L1n 2z 670 Q? r% -i. C=oeeutin 3.07 Thme DPW J~A1l he tan.sat4k1e for the execution af ti? projetc; bne studies and engineering wiill be by consultants. The DN has negotiated contracta wth SETBO (fran£ce) for the debailed en4lneering oi the ruan and with SCET-BCECI4 (France) for the preparation of the highway maintenance pragran a^nd tir detailed engineering ai the bridges and cuiverts. The Bank approved the consultants' draft contracts in T4y 1969. The consultants are eCxpected ta n,iabilize in June 1969. Tne preparation of the maintenance pro- gram shouILd be corr.pleted by larch 1970 and the engineering studies by about ly 1 7i7. - 8- 3I 8 Tho - 6s4Yg'-y --- 1- to -Jeld a consV'-;onn project, the total cost of which can best be estimated, on the basis of Itu-aOLconsuIL t; 's anAd preOM' - lILLnar-y est Irat.es L-teV±weu adIU dJLus y-- ' -t Bank, as between US$l7-25 million equivalent depending upon findings with respect to the rûst, ecWonic design options. The forei excagecon4onent would be ini the range of US$10-15 million equivalent, or about 60%. The buuk of tht- construction project wouid consist of major road and bridge construction works, and the remainder of the procurement of maintenance equipment, foreign imports for bettermenb works, and consultants' services for the supervision of construction and of the highway maintenance and bet- terment program. D. Financing 3.09 The amount of the proposed loan is US$8b5,OOo equivalent, which would cover the foreign exchange requirements of the consultants' services. The Bank will finance the actual foreign exchange cost of the consultants' services. Any surplus funds remaining in the loan account would be can- celled on coinpletion of the studies and engineering. Disbursement of the loan wculd be evenly divided between the years 1969 and 1970. - 9- 4 . ECONHICT CJA --T UATION 4.01 The economnic justification of the project is based on extensive studies by italcon-sult of t- ffei -een fr---- -s ror the eid16-90 A detailed. arialysis, region by region, and commodity by commodity, shows that the cr+m'td6 rulgowhof Gl%rD wil11 induucsubtn a'SV£.L growth of road traffic, up to 10% per year in areas where important tourist M veloment- is ex-vec--edu. '*i-iLLe thLIe coverage of the road ne'wor-k is adequate to handle future flows, its condition is deteriorating, and on some import- ant sections rnear Luis congestion is building up. The main concern is to ensure that the road network will be able to serve future demand adequately and that the forecast economic development wiii not be hampered by rising transport costs. This strategy points to a project consisting of (i) re- construction of certain roads to improved standards to avoid developing congestion, (iî) elimination of existing and foreseeable constraints due to coliapsed bridges and other inadequate structures, and (iii) a mainten- ance and betterment program to prevent further deterioration of the road system. rhe road by road analysis which follows gives a general indica- tion of the economic justification for the eventual construction project; however, further engineering and economic studies are necessary to refine and optimize the scope and standards of the works and to estimate the tim- ing of construction. 4.02 The Tunis-Libyan border road (GP1) is the most important north- south link in Tunisia. Improvexoent of the Tunis-Enfidaville section is of high priority. The traffic ranges fron 9,000 vehicles per day near Tunis to 2,100 vehicles per day at Enfidaville. On the basis of Italconsult's survey, passenger car and other light vehicle traffic makes up about 80% of the total traffic and trucks and buses the remainder. Light vehicle traffic is expected to grow at an average rate of 9% per year, and truck and bus traffic at an average rate of 5% per year. In view of the high agricultural and tourist potential of the area served by this road section, the forecasts appear reasonable. Reconstruction of the road to the stand- ards proposed by Italconsult wou'ld yield an economic rate of return of about 11%. 4.03 The Enfidaville-Kairouan road (GP2) is in poor condition. Main- tenance costs are high because of failing pavement and inadequate drainage. The traffic is about 500 vehicles per day and is expected to grow at an average rate of 6% per year. Reconstruction of the pavement and improve- ment of drainage; to standards -sraoewhat la^.«er thnan recommnended byItalcn- sult, would yield an economic rate of return of 10%. 4.0o The Tunis-Beja (GP5-GP6) and the Tunis-Pont du Fahs (GP3) roads are maior ii n1 -with the rich agr ^ultural areas wesg and svutS est of Tunis. Traffic on these roads averages about 1,000 vehicles per day, and isexpected to gro at an average rate of Vic per year Lor car-s and 6U fo,r trucks. GLrs make up about 85i of the total traffic. Many sections are narrow ad w;ndngn d d imuprouverients, mlcluding local realignments, woulid result in substantial speed increases. Savings are also expected to result from the 2ni-proveient of tne road surface. Reconstruction to the standard - 10 - recumnended bv Italconslut would yield an economic rate of retu.rn of at least 10% for the Tunis-Beja road, and 12% for the project section of the Tunis-iPonnt du d Fahs road. .o5 The Turki-Nbeul (MC27) and C-P1 - K-rbaa (iMC2, 41, 2, U4) roads branch off the GP1 eastward into the agriculturally rich southern part of the r rp Bon are--. The trfT c var-ies between 2,200 vehicles per day on the MC26 and a low of about 500 vehicles per day on MCÙh. Traffic growth isexpected to reach an average of about P/ per y-ear for paLssenger cars and 6% for heavy vehicles. There is a high seasonal variation of traffic and, ----ous congestiJon resu'lts duriLng the ar-çest an' tourist seasor.s. u.L.± i u.u ux.i~i± LW..rvtubL ± IU i,UJ.L bt c±Vf Improvemient of these roads is expected to yield a 14% return. 4.o6 An economic justification of the bridges has beeri carried out by BCEOM on the basis of prel=initnary cost estimates and benefits resuiting from avoidance of time delays when the temporary structures replacing the bridges are 'looded, and some savings in vehicie operating costs when these tempo- rary structures can be used. Reconstruction of the bridges has been recom- mended wnen the first year benefit/cost ratio exceeded 10%. This justifi- cation has been carefully reviewed by the mission and found acceptable. In terns of rate of return and on the basis of a traffic growth of 3% per annumi, reconstruction of each one of the bridges would yield at least a 13% rate of return over 30 years. This rate of return does not take into con- sideration benelits resulting from the increased reliability of travel, which are also considered to be significant. 4.07 The maintenance program to be prepared under the proposed engineer- ing project is not yet defined accurately enough to permit a quantified evaluation of its economic return. Economic evaluation is, in fact, biLlt into the consultants' study and the analysis of the trade off between mlin- tenance expenditure, vehicle operating cost, and road reconstruction co,ts nill form the basis of the consultants' reccmnendation. Because of the high benefits and relatively low capital expenditures involved in an ap- propriate mainteniance operation this part of the project is expected to yield a high rate of return. - il - 5. RECONMENDATIONS 5.01 During loan negotiations satisfactory assurances were obtainecd from the Government that: (î) in the event of the Bank Group financing the works under a future project, road and bridge construction will be let to contract on the basis of international competitive bidding (see para. 2.14); (ii) before the national construction company is formed, its articles of apreement wilbl he nereed wnth the Bank and_ an adeouate amount of DNJ equipment will be retained for the hipghway maintenance organization (see para. (iii) the consultants' recom-mendti-or.s on the maintenance cnd betterment program will be discussed with the Bank, and on this basis agreement reached on a program (see para. 3.0s0). The signature of the contracts with the consulting firms for the engineer- ing and maintenance studies îs a condition of the effectiveness of the proposed loan. 5.02 The project is suitable for a Bank loan of US$o.85 million. The proposed teri of O he 'oan is 1O years including a two-year period oi` grace. Refunding of the engineering loan should be considered in the case that the construction loan is made. Niay i2, 1909 TABLE 1 TUMNIS1A HIG-HWA-Y EM;G1NE;;iNG F-ROJECT Highway Department Budgets Maintenance Construction Total (millions of Dinars) 1961 2.9 1.7 4.6 1962 2.8 1.2 14.0 1963 2.5 2.4 14.9 1964 2.6 0.4 3.02 1965 2.6 0.9 3.5 1966 2.5 1.14 3.9 1967 2.7 0.9 3.6 mA rlT' ^, xT'LlIS IA HIGhIRAI ElIsqGNEMKiI,7G PRûJECT List of Roads and Bridges to be Engineered A. Roads Length Ref No. Road From To kmi 1 GPl Tunis, pont de Enfidaville 98 Carthage 2 GP2 Enfidaville PK 41 41. 3 GP3 Tunis, pont de PK 30 3C Carthage 4 CrP5 Tunis-Bardo 1Nedjez El Bab 56 5 GP6 Medjez El Bab Beja 42 6 N'C26, h1, 42 Junction GP1 Korba 46 and h4 7 MC27 Turki Nabeul 29 342 NOTE: Rcads Nos. 1 to 5 are primary, and 6 to 7 secondary. B. Bridges logthan 15 m Ref. No. Road Kilometer point River 1 GP3 193 + 910 El Foul 2 GP1 181 + 470 Kerker 3 GP17 150 + 570 Sarra,th 4 GP7 114 + h50 Magsbaia 5 MC35 37 + 250 Zit 6 MC55 9 + 770 Tine 7 GP5 79 + 310 Siliana 8 GP17 2 + 6h0 Amor 9 GP17 3 + 690 Kébir TAnBLS 2 TUNI1SIA List of Roads and Bridges to be D7±g ineered Ref. NJo. Road Kilometer point River 10 GP17 11 + 190 Renagha il GP17 33 + 41O Sardouk 12 MC27 54 + 440 Chiba 13 MC33 E 2 + 550 Mi7liane 14 MC27 28 + 230 Ketir 15 GP6 38 + 950 Bejà 16 MC26 39 + 980 Abi.d M4ay 12. 1969 E7' LLI ?