Sector Results and Learning:
Transportation
This Transportation Sector Results and Learning page is a repository of evidence generated by all MCC-funded transportation interventions. To promote learning and inform future program design, this page captures monitoring data from key common indicators, showcases recent and relevant evaluations, includes all agency lessons from completed transportation evaluations to-date, and links to learning that has been aggregated across completed evaluations in the sector.
What Do We Invest In?
MCC has funded $3.1 billion in transportation interventions as of March 2023. These interventions fall into the following categories: transportation infrastructure; management, funding, operations and maintenance assistance; and transportation policy, regulatory, planning, financing and institutional development assistance.
Transport Infrastructure
These programs focus on the upgrading, improvement, rehabilitation and maintenance of transportation infrastructure such as roads, ports and airports to reduce transportation costs.
Management, Funding, Operations and Maintenance Assistance
These programs focus on building the capacity of local transportation public agencies/institutions to increase funding sources and cost-effectively manage, operate and maintain transportation systems.
Transport Policy, Regulatory, Planning, Financing and Institutional Development Assistance
These programs focus on building the capacity of local transportation public agencies/institutions to set policies and build planning and implementation capacities to keep transportation costs low.
What Have We Completed So Far?
MCC and its country partners develop and tailor Monitoring and Evaluation Plans for each program and country context. Within these country-specific plans, MCC uses common indicators to standardize measurement and reporting within certain sectors. See below for a subset of common indicators that summarize implementation achievements across all MCC transportation investments as of June 2023.
4,773
kilometers of roads under design
4,275
kilometers of roads under works contracts
3,563
kilometers of roads completed
What Have We Achieved?
MCC commissions independent evaluations, conducted by third-party evaluators, for every project it funds. These evaluations hold MCC and country partners accountable for the achievement of intended results and also produce evidence and learning to inform future programming. They investigate the quality of project implementation, the achievement of the project objective and other targeted outcomes, and the cost-effectiveness of the project. The graphs below summarize the composition and status of MCC’s independent evaluations in the transportation sector as of February 2023. Read on to see highlights of published interim and final evaluations. Follow the evaluation links to see the status of all planned, ongoing, and completed evaluations in the sector and to access the reports, summaries, survey materials, and data sets.
Go to our List of Evaluations to see the status of MCC’s transportation sector evaluations
Highlighted Evaluations

April 1, 2022 | El Salvador Compact
Connecting northern El Salvador through road improvements
High quality roads reduced travel time, but road usage has not met projections
- Evaluation Type:
- Evaluation Status: Final
MCC’s $449.6 million El Salvador Compact (2007-2012) funded the $268 million Connectivity Project to build, improve, or rehabilitate 23 bridges and 223 kilometers of road. The project was based on the theory that improving road quality would lead to reduced travel costs and decreased travel time, leading to increased use of the road. Increased usage of the road would then enable communities to participate more fully in the national and regional economy.
Read Evaluation Details or the Evaluation Brief

December 9, 2021 | Senegal Compact
Unlocking Market Access via Road in Senegal
Reduced travel times have not yet led to reduced transport costs for users
- Evaluation Type:
- Evaluation Status: Final
MCC’s $540 million Senegal Compact (2010–2015) funded the $324 million Roads Rehabilitation Project. The Roads Rehabilitation Project improved 372 kilometers of strategic highways and river crossings in the north and south of the country. The project was based on the theory that improvements in road infrastructure would reduce travel times and vehicle operating costs for road users, improving access to markets and services, which would in turn support economic growth and improve outcomes for local people.
Read Evaluation Details or the Evaluation Brief

December 14, 2020 | Mongolia Compact
Improving Roads to Reduce Transportation Costs in Mongolia
Road upgrades reduced transport costs but preventative maintenance is unlikely
- Evaluation Type:
- Evaluation Status: Final
MCC’s $269 million Mongolia Compact (2008–2013) funded the $75 million North-South (N-S) Road Project to reduce transportation costs along a critical corridor between Russia and China by constructing a 176.4 km all-weather road section from Choir to Sainshand and by providing the Government of Mongolia with technical assistance and equipment for road maintenance. The project theorized that these outputs would decrease road roughness, travel times, and vehicle operating costs and increase traffic.
Read Evaluation Details or the Evaluation Brief

October 30, 2020 | Tanzania Compact
Upgrading Transport Networks in Tanzania
Paving roads increased trade and mobility, but not all were cost-effective
- Evaluation Type:
- Evaluation Status: Final
MCC’s $695 million Tanzania Compact (2008-2013) funded the $405 million Transport Sector Project, which upgraded trunk roads in mainland Tanzania, rural roads on Pemba Island, and the Mafia Island Airport runway. 190 km of roads were completed at compact close, with the remaining 278 km later completed by the Government of Tanzania. The project aimed to increase cash crop revenue in mainland Tanzania and Pemba, and increase tourist spending on Mafia Island by reducing transportation costs.
Read Evaluation Details or the Evaluation Brief
Go to our Evaluation Brief page to see all completed transportation sector evaluations
What Have We Learned from Our Results?
To link the evidence from the independent evaluations with MCC practice, project staff produce an MCC Learning document at the close of each interim and final evaluation to capture practical lessons for programming and evaluation. Use the filters below to find lessons relevant to your evidence needs.
How Have We Aggregated Learning Across the Sector?
MCC has developed a Principles into Practice paper using evidence from completed independent evaluations in the transportation sector – Principles into Practice: Lessons from MCC’s Investments in Roads. The Principles into Practice series offers a frank look at what it takes to make the principles MCC considers essential for development operational in the projects in which MCC invests. The learning captured in this paper informs MCC’s ongoing efforts to refine and strengthen its own model and development practice in the transportation sector. MCC hopes this paper will also allow others to benefit from, and build upon, MCC’s lessons.