Over the last five years, the South-East Asia Community Access project (SEACAP) has provided research funding to road builders to solve the problems of rural transport in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, through the optimal use of local resources such as labour and materials.

This has allowed planners and constructors to experiment and test new techniques. The low cost and sustainable solutions generated by the research have been tailored to the local environment and materials as well as the specific uses of the road. For example, testing in Vietnam showed that naturally occurring, unproven gravel to be inappropriate in many circumstances leading to new international guidelines for constructors.

SEACAP communicated successful approaches from 30 research projects in a series of 90 dissemination and mainstreaming events for infrastructure professionals and decision makers. 

UNOPS participated in SEACAP in two important ways. The technical management of SEACAP was provided by an UNOPS project staff. The outputs of SEACAP were put into use by UNOPS through the EU-funded Sri Lankan programme and the World Bank supported National Emergency Employment Program and Rural Access Program in Afghanistan.

UNOPS in Sri Lanka currently is managing the design and construction of some 400 km of rural roads, a project which has provided three million days of work for local people and improved access to services that are fundamental to growth and poverty alleviation. Using sustainable approaches developed through SEACAP ensures that the benefits of these investments will be perpetuated into the long term.

The rural roads project in Sri Lanka has provided three million days of work for local people

SEACAP, funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), has delivered findings which have improved the effectiveness of major rural roads programmes supported by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Union. The SEACAP project ended on 30 June – thereafter the results of the programme can be accessed through the global Transport Knowledge Partnership which is also supported by DFID.