JG Afrika is part of a Construction Entity that was appointed to design, rehabilitate, improve and maintain a 225km network of feeder roads within the Nandom, Lawra and Lambussie Districts by the Ghanaian Ministry of Roads and Highways.

The project is being undertaken under an Output and Performance-based Road Contracting (OPBRC) model.

JG Afrika is providing geometric and pavement design expertise and Taivani Consult of Ghana is completing the geotechnical investigations and site surveys, in addition to the hydrology and hydraulic design of the roadway drainage. Attachy Construction of Ghana brings contracting capacity to the Construction Entity.

The rehabilitation and upgrades include the installation of streetlights, as well as the construction of sidewalks, bus bays and stopping lanes in urban areas. Gravel roads in these areas will also be widened and paved. Existing culverts will also be upgraded and new culverts constructed.

The maintenance component includes minor rehabilitations and periodic maintenance consists of re-graveling activities. Emergency works have been included in the network performance component.

The construction entity is responsible for maintaining the road for three years after the two-year-long construction phase.

During the bidding process, it proposed a fixed lump-sum price to raise the road to a certain service level and to maintain this standard over a period. The Construction Entity is remunerated for achieving the specified service level indicators of the OPBRC.

OPBRCs incentivise construction entities to be efficient and effective. To maximise profits, they must reduce work through intelligently designed interventions, while ensuring that they achieve and maintain the pre-defined service levels over time.

Moreover, they ensure that they maintain the road according to expectation, ensuring efficiency gains and technological innovation.

OBPRC also requires sound preparatory engineering work. This includes compiling comprehensive information on the condition of roads. For improvement works, a well-designed bill of quantities that defines specific outputs for bidders to price is also prepared. Moreover, unit price bill of quantities with estimates is prepared for emergency works for bidders to price for bid evaluation purposes. The bill of quantities, as well as unit prices and real measured volumes of emergency works executed are used to pay the construction entity. Sound engineering skills are also required to determine whether the rehabilitation works should be included in the contract or be undertaken in advance under a separate standard civil works contract.