It is not possible to assess the sustainability of the project at this time, since this will depend on the degree of Government commitment to the restructuring of the road maintenance administrative structure demonstrated during project preparation. The World Bank has had extensive experience in road maintenance in many places around the world, and in many of the Eastern European countries as well. One important lesson learned many years ago is the importance of giving priority to maintenance over new construction when financing is constrained, based on the superior rates of return that almost invariably are achieved by the maintenance operations. As a number of the Eastern European country operations are now at or near completion, there are number of other important lessons that emerge. First among these is that contracting is more efficient than force account operations.
Routine maintenance is more problematic since the work tasks are more difficult to define precisely.
Nevertheless, there is growing experience in European countries such as Finland and Sweden where routine maintenance is being carried out on a contract basis, frequently with significant savings compared to the force account operations that preceded the change. It is now timely to consider contracting for routine maintenance more widely. The Bank's experience with the provision of financing for road maintenance is more mixed, but several lessons are clear. First, it is important that the road users be assessed for the cost of maintaining the roads, just as other basic infrastructure charges for its services, as in the case of electric power or telephone service. The most appropriate charges are those most directly related to the use of the roads, with fuel taxes as the largest contributor in most cases.