Other Infrastructure Study

341 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2204

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Socio-Economic Costs and Human Impacts of Road Accidents in Azerbaijan

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06) World Bank

Road accidents represent a growing worldwide problem. According to the official statistics, 696 people died and 1,410 were seriously injured in road crashes in Azerbaijan in 2020. The launch of the state road safety program for 2019 - 2023 is an important step towards improving road safety in Azerbaijan. By adopting the program in 2018 the Government of Azerbaijan committed itself to substantially improving road safety. The strategic program aims to improve Azerbaijan’s road safety performance and to reduce the number of road crashes and casualties. The state road safety program explicitly states that in addition to reducing the number of accidents and casualties, decreasing the socio-economic costs that result from road crashes is one of its aims. The lack of information on the socio-economic costs of road crashes is an important knowledge and capacity gap for handling road safety problems in Azerbaijan. The aim of the study is to assess the national socio-economic costs and the impact of road accidents on poverty, shared prosperity, and vulnerable groups. Concerning the socio-economic costs, all relevant cost items are included and quantified to the extent possible, following international standards and best practices. The report is structured as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents the methodology for the assessment of the socio-economic costs and poverty impacts of road crashes in Azerbaijan, as well as the data collection methods, including a survey among road casualties. Chapter three presents the assessment of the socio-economic costs of road crashes and chapter four - of the human and poverty impacts. Chapter five discusses policy implications of study results for policy making and presents key recommendations.
Assessment of the Digital Market in Croatia

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-02) World Bank

With a view to supporting Croatia’s continued efforts to advance its digital transformation, this report contains the findings of a comprehensive study of the digital sector in Croatia. In this study, the digital sector is defined as the internet (fixed and mobile), telephony (fixed and mobile), and pay TV markets. The study examines indicators of Croatia’s performance relative to a set of peer countries and the European Union (EU) average, with an emphasis on fixed and mobile broadband services as foundational elements of the digital transformation. To complete the assessment, other related factors, such as human capital, the integration of digital technology into the economy, and digital public services, are also considered at a higher level. The study then identifies specific gaps pertaining to digital infrastructure as well as the regulations and policies needed for a vibrant and competitive digital sector. On the opportunities side, the study assesses the relevance of encouraging the development of four emerging technologies in Croatia: the Internet of Things (IoT); artificial intelligence (AI); data centers and cloud services; and smart cities. The report concludes with high-level strategic and actionable recommendations drawn from the analysis. In light of the three national disasters that have recently affected Croatia, namely, the Zagreb earthquake in March 2020, the December earthquakes that struck the Sisak-Moslavina County, and the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19), this report also highlights the role that digital infrastructure and services could play in strengthening Croatia’s resilience to such crises.
Albania E-Commerce Diagnostic: Leveraging the Digital Trade Opportunity

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12) World Bank

E-commerce, defined broadly as the sale of goods and services facilitated through the internet, is a key growth opportunity for Albania. Sellers can benefit from internet marketing, 24-hour online shopping and remote transaction settlement to reach more customers. Buyers, including both consumers as well as businesses that source their inputs, stand to gain through greater choice, convenience and market competition. With the emergence of new companies offering enabling services for e-commerce, including technology companies, payment services and logistics, a variety of new job opportunities is emerging. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has also emerged as an important pillar in the fight against the virus. This report identifies key recommendations for Albania to fully leverage e-commerce as economic development opportunity.
South Caucasus and Central Asia - The Belt and Road Initiative: Uzbekistan Country Case Study

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

Uzbekistan is a resource-rich country with a relatively young population of 33 million, the largest in Central Asia. It is also a geographic pivot for the region, bordering all other Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, with transit connections in all directions. As a double landlocked country, it is uniquely dependent on these cross-border transport connections and on how well they work. It can also potentially be the largest market in Central Asia and given its sizeable young labor force and substantial agricultural and manufacturing capacity, a major regional exporter. This note attempts to highlight the potential economic impact of BRI on the Tajik economy. It looks at how, if fully implemented globally, the BRI is expected to achieve better transport connections and greater economic integration of participating BRI countries, discusses improvements in Tajikistan’s cross-border transport, electricity and ICT infrastructure to-date, and assesses the potential impact of the completion of all BRI transport projects on Tajik shipment time. It further looks at the likely economic impact of BRI reductions in shipment time on exports, FDI and GDP, and the spatial distribution of benefits within the country and at how complementary polices can enhance the positive impact and mitigate risks. Finally, it examines the fiscal risk of Tajikistan’s scaling-up of investment in BRI transport projects in the coming years without undermining medium-term debt sustainability.
Greener Transport Connectivity for Eastern Partnership Countries

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative, which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU) and its six Eastern neighbours. One of its four priority areas is stronger connectivity which includes the extension of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) to the EaP region. On the policy front, it aims at achieving regulatory convergence across transport modes between member countries and with the EU to heighten the focus on energy efficiency and combat climate change. The EaP countries experienced a large shock to their economies following the end of the Soviet Union in 1989. At the same time, EaP countries are acutely aware of the need to converge with the EU in terms of energy efficiency, environment and climate change goals. The EU is currently formalising its European Green Deal, which is a roadmap for making the EU's economy sustainable. The objective of this study is to assist decision-makers in prioritizing strategic transport policies and infrastructure investments. It develops the evidence base and prioritisation framework for improving the transport sector of the region including improved energy efficiency and sustainability so that it is not left behind by advances in the EU. The study has also developed an online visualization tool to help policy makers explore and use the results of the modelling exercise.
South Caucasus and Central Asia - The Belt and Road Initiative: Kazakhstan Country Case Study

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

Kazakhstan is an upper-middle income, resource rich country. Its ascent to upper-middle income status was propelled by rising oil production and booming oil prices which pushed the average annual rate to above 7 percent during 2000-2013. The halving of world oil prices and lower export demand since resulted in a sharp slowdown with an average annual GDP growth rate of 2.2 percent in 2014-17. Growth picked up modestly recently but remains a far cry from the levels seen in early 2000s. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and the slump in commodity prices further dents the growth outlook. This note assesses the potential impact of BRI over connectivity and the Kazakh economy. It looks at how, if fully implemented globally, the BRI is expected to achieve better transport connections and greater economic integration of participating BRI countries, discusses improvements in Kazakhstan’s cross-border transport, electricity and ICT infrastructure to-date, and the potential impact of the completion of BRI transport projects on lowering Kazakh shipment time. It further looks at the likely economic impact of BRI reductions in shipment time on exports, FDI and GDP, the within country regional distribution of that impact and how complementary polices can enhance the positive impact and reduce regional inequity. Finally, it also examines the fiscal risk of scaling-up investment in BRI projects in the coming years without undermining medium-term debt sustainability.
South Caucasus and Central Asia - The Belt and Road Initiative: Tajikistan Country Case Study

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

Tajikistan is the poorest country in the region despite strong growth for nearly two decades; sustaining growth in future will need substantially higher growth in private investment and exports. Its per capita income (GNI) is close to US$1,000 but nearly a third of its population, of around 9 million, live in poverty. Its growth of 6-7 percent per year since 2000 was fueled by growth in consumption and public investment, the latter driven mainly by rising remittances and export receipts from aluminum and cotton. Private investment and growth of other exports remained weak, and the fiscal situation, fragile for most of that period. Accordingly, the National Development Strategy 2030 (NDS) seeks to address those weaknesses. This note attempts to highlight the potential economic impact of BRI on the Tajik economy. It looks at how, if fully implemented globally, the BRI is expected to achieve better transport connections and greater economic integration of participating BRI countries, discusses improvements in Tajikistan’s cross-border transport, electricity and ICT infrastructure to-date, and assesses the potential impact of the completion of all BRI transport projects on Tajik shipment time. It further looks at the likely economic impact of BRI reductions in shipment time on exports, FDI and GDP, and the spatial distribution of benefits within the country and at how complementary polices can enhance the positive impact and mitigate risks. Finally, it examines the fiscal risk of Tajikistan’s scaling-up of investment in BRI transport projects in the coming years without undermining medium-term debt sustainability.
South Caucasus and Central Asia - The Belt and Road Initiative: Georgia Country Case Study

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

Georgia is the only country in the CAC region that can access markets around the world through its own seaports and thus less dependent on China’s BRI overland corridors for trade, investment and growth. Nevertheless, the Georgian government is investing in the one BRI corridor China, Europe route that passes through the Caucuses, partly because it provides a faster route to China. The potential for larger volume of Chinese transit cargo on this route may also be attractive given its desire to become a major transit and trading hub in the region. With greater people-to-people contact between China and Georgia, there could also be greater access to China’s outward FDI under the BRI that would bring with it capital, better technology as well as managerial and marketing know-how. Chinese private firms are already investing in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and other areas in the country. Georgia’s liberal investment and trade regime, especially its free trade agreements with the European Union (EU), China, Turkey, and its location, make it eminently suited for such FDI inflows, including participation in China-centric Global Value Chains (GVCs). This note assesses the potential impact of BRI over connectivity and the Georgian economy. It looks at how, if fully implemented globally, the BRI is expected to achieve better transport connections and greater economic integration of participating BRI countries, discusses improvements in Georgia’s cross-border transport, electricity and ICT infrastructure to-date, and the potential impact of the completion of BRI transport projects on lowering Georgia’s shipment time. It further looks at the likely economic impact of BRI reductions in shipment time on exports, FDI and GDP, the within-country regional distribution of that impact and how complementary polices can enhance the positive impact, mitigate risks and reduce regional inequity. Finally, it also examines the fiscal risk of scaling-up investment in BRI projects in the coming years without undermining medium-term debt sustainability.
South Caucasus and Central Asia - The Belt and Road Initiative: Kyrgyz Republic Country Case Study

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

The Kyrgyz economy has been, since its earliest days, the most liberal and open among Central Asian countries resulting in an atypical structural transformation with limited productivity growth. It was the first Central Asian country to become a WTO member in 1998 and its trade share in GDP is the highest in the region. This is largely due to the flourishing cross-border trade with Kyrgyz Republic’s large markets, Dordoi and Kara-Su, intermediating large volumes of goods: importing goods through both formal and informal trade systems, mainly from China, and re-exporting (in few cases with some value-addition) most of that to other economies in the region. It has highly entrepreneurial traders and a logistics-system that caters well to this large ‘entrepot’ trade. Agriculture and light manufacturing have contributed to its exports. This note assesses the potential impact of BRI over connectivity and the Kazakh economy. It looks at how, if fully implemented globally, the BRI is expected to achieve better transport connections and greater economic integration of participating BRI countries, discusses improvements in Kazakhstan’s cross-border transport, electricity and ICT infrastructure to-date, and the potential impact of the completion of BRI transport projects on lowering Kazakh shipment time. It further looks at the likely economic impact of BRI reductions in shipment time on exports, FDI and GDP, the within country regional distribution of that impact and how complementary polices can enhance the positive impact and reduce regional inequity. Finally, it also examines the fiscal risk of scaling-up investment in BRI projects in the coming years without undermining medium-term debt sustainability.
South Caucasus and Central Asia - The Belt and Road Initiative: Armenia Country Case Study

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) World Bank

Armenia is a small land-locked mountainous country with relatively difficult access to regional and global markets. The borders with Azerbaijan in the east and with Turkey in the southwest and west are closed. Only the borders with Georgia in the north and Iran in the south are open for trade and transport. Roads dominate its mode of transportation because of its mostly mountainous terrain. The only cross-border rail connection is through Georgia. None of the BRI-corridors pass through the country and even the one that goes through Georgia is only accessible in the western direction. This note assesses the potential impact of BRI over connectivity and the Armenian economy. It looks at how, if fully implemented globally, the BRI is expected to achieve better transport connections and greater economic integration, discusses improvements in Armenia’s cross-border transport, electricity and ICT infrastructure to-date, and the potential impact of the completion of BRI transport projects on lowering Armenian shipment time. It further looks at the likely economic impact of BRI-related reductions in shipment time on exports, FDI and GDP, the within-country regional distribution of that impact and how complementary polices can enhance the positive impact, mitigate risks and reduce regional inequity. Finally, it also examines the fiscal risk of scaling-up investment in BRI projects in the coming years without undermining medium-term debt sustainability.