WORLD BANK GRANT FACILITATES REHABILITATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ROADS IN KOSOVO

WASHINGTON, August 17, 2000 - A US$5 million grant for an Urgent Road Project for Kosovo was signed today by Christiaan Poortman, World Bank Coordinator for Southeast Europe, and Jock Covey, Principal Deputy to the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General, on behalf of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The project will contribute to the reconstruction and economic development of Kosovo by financing part of a US$60 million comprehensive program of interventions in the road sector for the next two to three years. This program will fund road rehabilitation/maintenance and bridge rehabilitation on the main network; support the first steps toward the re-establishment of a Road Administration; provide assistance to the UNMIK Department of Transport and Infrastructure; and fund studies in priority areas such as treatment of traffic congestion and traffic safety issues.

The World Bank-funded activities include:

• Road Maintenance. About 570 km of roads will be maintained under the project with a focus on funding road maintenance on those sections of the main network which do not require extensive rehabilitation but urgently need to be maintained in order to remain serviceable;
• Road Rehabilitation. The project will fund overlay on about 14 km of a high priority stretch of the Pristina-Gnjilane Road; and,
• Support to Road Management Capacity. The project will fund a study on the potential introduction of road user charges. It will also provide for a site engineer both to organize supervision of the works carried out under the project, and to strengthen supervision capacity within the Road Administration. The project will fund the cost of annual audits.

The grant will be disbursed out of the World Bank Trust Fund set up for the benefit of Kosovo in fiscal year 2000. The grant expected closing date is June 30, 2003.