Towards Digital Road Asset Management (RAM) in Ethiopia: A BIM-Enabled Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Road infrastructure is vital to Ethiopia’s economic development, yet road asset management (RAM) practices remain largely conventional, fragmented, and inefficient. This study investigates RAM practices, digital readiness, and challenges in Ethiopia and proposes a BIM-enabled conceptual framework to support digital transformation. A mixed survey and expert interviews were conducted. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings highlight that 96.97% of respondents agree that Ethiopia’s RAM is a manual system, with limited adoption of GIS (66.7%) and bridge management systems (57.6%) and negligible use of BIM, IoT, or AI technologies. Budget constraints, poor data quality, limited coordination, lack of digital skills, and conventional policies are the major challenges in Ethiopian RAM. Institutional readiness assessments indicate low to moderate preparation in organizational, technical, financial, and policy dimensions. To address these challenges, a BIM-driven RAM framework was developed and validated through a Delphi-based expert process. The framework integrates BIM, GIS, IoT, and AI to enable data-driven decision-making. This study provides a strategic roadmap for transitioning Ethiopia’s road sector toward an intelligent, transparent, and sustainable digital RAM ecosystem. The framework will be important for policymakers and practitioners seeking to modernize infrastructure management in developing contexts.