Three billion dirhams (MMDH) are devoted annually to the maintenance of the road network, or about 46% of the total budget allocated to roads, said Tuesday in Rabat, the Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Construction. water, Abdelkader Amara.
During the oral questioning session in the Chamber of Councilors, Abdelkader Amara underlined that “the national road assets exceeded 300 billion dirhams, and failure to maintain it would be a loss for the country”.
The Minister recorded, in this sense, that the cost of regular maintenance of the road network amounts to 250 million dirhams per year, highlighting the willingness of the ministry to consolidate the achievements in the field of road maintenance, in particular in view of the increase in investments linked to the construction of new roads.
“The works of extension, construction and rehabilitation of the road network to meet the growing needs of road traffic cost nearly 54% of the budget allocated annually by the ministry to roads”, he observed, noting that ” there are certain problems which hamper the work of the ministry at this level, in particular those related to the novelties obliging the ministry to make changes in terms of programming and financing, like the Tiznit-Dakhla expressway.
Regarding the municipal roads, the total length of which should reach 33,000 km, Abdelkader Amara noted that efforts are being made in this direction by the local authorities in coordination with the ministry and the stakeholders concerned, to improve the frequency and quality of maintenance of rural roads, with a view to preserving road assets in rural areas, said the minister.
The government official further indicated that achieving the required balance between maintenance of the road network, preservation of road assets and construction of new roads is a challenge for the ministry, indicating that there is a problem. linked to the special fund for financing road projects, which are linked to fuel revenues which experience price fluctuations, which affects the budget allocated to the road network.
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