Anhui Highway Rehabilitation and Improvement Project;

With a population of about 65 million in 2006, Anhui was one of the most populous and densely populated provinces in China. It lagged markedly behind neighboring provinces in socio-economic development and suffered from economic disparity between its industrial regions close to Yangtze River and the rest of the province. Transport was one of the priorities in Anhui’s “Development to the East” strategy, which aimed to expedite the incorporation of the various regions of Anhui to the comparatively more affluent regions of the Yangtze Delta. The existing highway network was unable to meet increasing transport demand due to low technical standards. Compared to the six surrounding provinces, the density of the network (km per population) was above the average, while the percentage of paved roads (as a proxy for the quality of the infrastructure) was the lowest. Other major shortcomings included (a) connections on the east-forward corridors consisting of lower-class roads, (b) poor quality pavement used in road construction and weak resistance against disaster, and (c) unbalanced distribution of road networks across the province.

The Anhui Highway Rehabilitation and Improvement Project was undertaken to increase the effective use of road infrastructure in Anhui province to support its social and economic development as measured by increased flow of passenger and freight traffic along key corridors across the province at lower costs and improved safety. The project included road rehabilitation, road improvement, road maintenance by contract, and institutional strengthening. Road rehabilitation consisted of improving pavement conditions by resurfacing 890 km of roads, specific structural strengthening, and limited adjustments to the alignment when required to improve safety. Road improvement included upgrading about 320 km of key provincial and national roads located on the central-eastern and southeastern areas of the province. Road maintenance by contract was implemented on two segments of the provincial highway network totaling 120 km. Institutional strengthening included improved tools for road management (technical, environmental, and economic) and a training program. Results from the project indicate that travel speed and traffic volume increased and safety improved on rehabilitated and improved roads in Anhui.