The costs include consultancy services and technical assistance, and expenses incurred by the National Road Administration (ANE) and the Road Fund and its delegations in the various provinces.
The figure was announced on Wednesday, at the end of a two day meeting with the road sector's foreign cooperation partners, which drew up a balance sheet of the activities carried out so far under the Road Sector Integrated Programme (PRISE).
Francisco Pereira, the chairperson of the Road Fund's board, said this sum will be disbursed as from October by the partners and by the government. He did not specify each partner's contribution.
"During the meeting, we presented a budget for the next nine months. For this period, we will need 30 million US dollars, to be used in maintenance and running costs", he said. On Wednesday, the Road Fund also signed two contract-programmes, one with the ANE, and the other with the National Traffic Institute (INAV).
Pereira said that the contract with ANE is for the two institutions to be connected organically, and to share duties, responsibilities and demands. He added that this is a working instrument that will allow the two institutions to know what are each party's responsibilities.
With INAV, the contract was mainly based on the recognition of this institution's role in road safety, and in the production of transport and communication documents in the framework of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Road Fund also signed three minutes with the cooperation partners, that reflect in detail all the issues discussed during the meeting, including a code of conduct and a memorandum of understanding, to be signed by the end of this month.
PRISA is a three year programme (2007/2009), that was initially budgeted at one billion US dollars. However, after six months work, the sums involved has been revised downwards to 943 million dollars.
SOURCE: AIM
