The Enhancing Rural Access (ERA) seeks to improve access to rural areas through the rehabilitation and maintenance of around 150 km of priority rural roads in selected districts of Timor-Leste. ERA further aims to establish capacities, both in private sector, in contract management and in training delivery. Whilst the main objective of ERA is improved access through the rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads, this will largely be done by local contractors trained in using a labour-based approach.

The ERA Project provides support to identified national training institutions, the Institute for Business Development Support (IADE) and Don Bosco Training Centre, in developing their capacities to deliver comprehensive training courses for small domestic contractors, supervisors and contract managers, to ensure the long term availability of institutions capable of delivering quality training to small scale contractors in a sustainable manners. ERA supports and assists these training institutions also in their accreditation in compliance with national competency standards.

Commencing in 2011, ERA is a four-year project with the following key partners:

Secretariat of State for Support and Promotion of Private Sector (SEAPRI)

Ministry of Public Works (MPW)

Don Bosco Foundation, Training Centre in Comoro

Institute for Business Development Support (IADE)

Chambers of Commerce and Industry Timor-Leste (CCI-TL)

The main beneficiaries of the ERA Project are the people living in the areas of influence of the roads that will be rehabilitated and/or maintained in the Project’s operational area. They will benefit from the improved road access to social and economic facilities and services and related spin-off effects.

The training of contractors will provide the required capacity to rehabilitate, repair and maintain the investments. Strengthening the capacities of the training providers will further enhance the sustainability of the Project’s capacity building outputs.