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Investing in roads

Lessons from the Eastern Indonesia National Roads Improvement Program

Group of women talking to man selling fish from box
A mobile trader selling fish along a section of EINRIP road in Sumbawa. Credit: Simon Ernst / DFAT


The Eastern Indonesia National Roads Improvement Project (EINRIP) was a major component of Australia's assistance package to Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The project included a loan component of up to $300 million augmented by grant financed support activities of a further $36 million. After almost 10 years in implementation EINRIP concluded in December 2015. Across nine provinces EINRIP delivered over 395 kilometers of improved or upgraded roads and a further 1.3 kilometers of bridges. In addition, this evaluation found that the project also has positive influence on the Indonesian roads sector with the Directorate General of Highways since adopting some key elements of the EINRIP approach.

This evaluation was conducted by ODE in late 2016 primarily as a learning exercise to help share lessons from EINRIP across the global portfolio of Australian aid investments in infrastructure. It also delivers lessons of potentially broader relevance such as the value add from the use of combined loan and grant financing or the desirability of a strategic communications strategy to help disseminate insights from monitoring and evaluation activities. In all the evaluation report documents 6 key lessons alongside a larger number of EINRIP specific findings.

This evaluation notes that although EINRIP had a sometimes troubled history, which included periods of underperformance and lengthy delays, at completion the project is able to boast a solid string of achievements and can truly be considered a success.



Last Updated: 17 March 2017
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