Planning and monitoring road investment across three West African countries

VIDA supports road and transport investment across three areas: due diligence on proposed corridors, screening of climate and other risks, and monitoring of construction progress.

These capabilities are already in use with VIDA’s clients. Multilateral development banks use them directly, and VIDA is the geospatial partner to an international engineering firm contracted by a US government agency, under a multi-year agreement, for due diligence across its global road program.

Due diligence

VIDA assesses whether a proposed corridor is the right one, and compares alternatives against each other. For each candidate section, VIDA analyses the population it would serve, patterns of movement, agricultural production and cash crops, industrial plantations and mining concessions, existing energy and transport infrastructure, road quality and observed traffic speeds. Sections are then ranked on trade and mobility potential. In Liberia, VIDA completed this assessment for three candidate corridors within two weeks.

Climate and resilience

VIDA screens corridors for physical climate risk and natural hazard exposure, alongside security and conflict incidence and crossings of protected areas. This establishes where a route is exposed to flooding, extreme heat and other hazards over its operating life, and where environmental or security conditions affect feasibility.

Progress monitoring

Once construction begins, VIDA combines satellite imagery with data reported from the ground, at section level and across an entire program. Paving progress is detected from imagery, so delivery is measured against what is observable rather than only what is reported. This was piloted on three road sections in Nigeria.