Roads Evaluations and Economic Analysis: Cabo Verde

Status: Completed

MCC signed a five-year, $110 million Compact with the government of Cabo Verde in July 2005. With a goal of advancing economic growth and reducing poverty, the Compact’s three project areas were (1) infrastructure, (2) private sector development, and (3) watershed and agricultural support. When it took effect, MCA-CV (an autonomous body) was established by the government to implement projects. Under the Compact’s Infrastructure Project, the Roads and Bridges Activity (RBA) aimed to both increase integration of internal markets and reduce transportation costs. When the Compact was signed, the total allocated to the Infrastructure Project was $78.8 million. By the end of the Compact, this was $82.6 million. The RBA investment was $27.7 million, covering improvements of three roads on Santiago Island concurrent to the construction of four bridges and an access road on Santo Antão Island. A total of 40.6 kilometers of roads were improved.

Region

  • Sub-Saharan Africa

Country / Countries

  • Cabo Verde
Africa

IDG’s evaluation, designed to understand the impact of the MCC-funded RBA on Cabo Verde’s economic growth, is mainly two-fold: 1) an economic analysis to understand the costs and benefits of the MCC-funded roads and bridges, and 2) performance evaluations of road maintenance, road usage patterns to complement and enhance knowledge gained through the economic analysis.

The evaluation is comprised of four Evaluation Areas:

  • Project design and implementation (EA 0): Review the initial design and the implementation process to inform the evaluation regarding how the activity was implemented.
  • Engineering analysis and economic model (EA 1): Conduct a cost-benefit analysis and estimate the economic rate of return (ERR) and net present value (NPV) using the Roads Economic Decision (RED) model.
  • Maintenance (EA 2): Assess current maintenance practices and the likelihood that MCC’s investment remains adequately maintained for the life of the investment. Analyze the effects of MCC’s Conditions Precedent part of the Compact on maintenance practices.
  • Road usage patterns (EA 3): Identify change in road usage patterns by analyzing expanded origin-destination (O-D) survey data after the MCC investment.

Areas of Expertise

Cost-benefit Analysis (CBA)

IDG conducted a cost-benefit analysis of MCC’s investment under the Roads and Bridges Activity, allowing MCC to compare the return on road investments consistently across countries and over time. The evaluation is designed to better inform future road investment decisions for MCC.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

IDG conducted an independent performance evaluation of MCC’s Roads and Bridges Activity investment eight years after completion. This performance evaluation adopted a mixed-methods approach with both quantitative and qualitative data collection. Primary data collection included two rounds of manual traffic counts, an origin-destination survey, a public transportation user survey, a vehicle operating costs survey, and a road roughness study. Additionally, key informant interviews were conducted with road sector stakeholders.

Knowledge Management and Learning

To maximize learning from the evaluation, IDG prepared a briefing note based on the evaluation findings report in English and Portuguese.

  • Project Status: Completed
  • Location: Cabo Verde