A wide range of intermediate equipment exists suitable for roadworks and rural services provision in developing countries. The principal advantages of this equipment are low initial capital and operating costs and flexibility of application compared to expensive, dedicated function heavy civil engineering equipment. The potential cross sector applications also provide attractions for local enterprises to find income earning opportunities from various sources.
Although developed for the agriculture sector, the two axle tractor has found proven, low-cost and beneficial applications in the African rural roads sector, particularly for maintenance operations.
Recent research has demonstrated that tractor-based road maintenance can offer cost savings of over 50% against heavy equipment maintenance of unpaved roads. The carbon footprint in terms of Green House Gas emissions is also very substantially less.
An added advantage is that the engineering requirements of intermediate equipment involve lesser research and development costs and the straightforward metal working and simple hydraulics components. This means that they can be assembled in a competent workshop in a developing country. This provides added employment and economic advantages to the country.
