Other Infrastructure Study
349 items available
Permanent URI for this collection
6 results
Items in this collection
Publication Best Practice Spectrum Renewal and Pricing : A Review of International Best Practice and the Lessons for the Government of Bangladesh(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06-02) Friend, GrahamThe 15 year licenses of four mobile operators in Bangladesh; Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi, and Citycell are due to expire in November 2011. The remaining two other mobile operators, state owned Teletalk and Airtel, were issued licenses in 2004 and 2005 and these are not due for renewal until 2019 and 2020 respectively. The World Bank has asked Coleago Consulting Limited (Coleago) to prepare a report on international best practice for spectrum renewal and pricing and to analyze the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) proposals in light of best practice. The mobile industry has changed dramatically in the intervening years and so license renewal provides regulators with the opportunity to update relevant regulation to better align the licensing framework and license conditions with the mobile industry of today and to accommodate future developments. In this report the author have surveyed a number of jurisdictions and examined both successful and not so successful spectrum renewal processes in order to derive a set of international principles of best practice for spectrum renewal and pricing. In doing so the author have also sought to identify best regulatory practice in a broader sense as successful spectrum renewal processes depend, in part, on being conducted within a robust and effective overall regulatory regime. This report covers: the process of spectrum renewal including both administered and market based approaches; and alternative methods for pricing spectrum.Publication Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) for Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Bangladesh : Final Implementation Plan(Washington, DC, 2009-10) World BankIn April, 2008 the World Bank and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) commenced a study with the following objectives: (i) to assess fiduciary and operational risks in LGED's management of projects, assets and other resources, and in the Local Government Division (LGD), Ministry Of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives' oversight function; (ii) to evaluate the efficacy of external review of decision-making by LGED and the LGD; and (iii) to identify options for future monitoring of operational risks in LGED and the LGD, and (iv) to prioritize options which are realistic and available to effectively minimize the major operational risks identified. This report addresses the last of these objectives. It is based on discussions in Dhaka 14-20 March with senior LGED staff the Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) team leader, and follow-up work by LGED staff through March 30. The report identifies and categorizes three different types of risks. The first type includes risks that LGED has the authority to take the necessary actions to address, with support from development partners and routine budgetary spending and staffing authorizations needed from other agencies. The second type includes risks that can only be addressed by LGED in partnership with one or more other organizations. In other words, it can initiate some parts, but will also need key partners to make necessary decisions to carry out the recommended actions. Although initial work on these can begin right away, successful implementation is expected to take longer than addressing the first type of risks. The third type includes risks that stem from the external environment in which LGED operates. LGED cannot take any direct action to address them. Yet, based on a full understanding of the nature of the risk, LGED may be able to take indirect actions to mitigate the relevant operational and fiduciary risks to LGED's operations and reputation. These are more complex than the first two types, and may take more time to address. Once finalized, the report will be presented and discussed at the ORA Dissemination Workshop tentatively scheduled for July, 2009, with participants from Government, civil society, and international partner organizations. Following approval by the Local Government Division, Ministry Of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, LGED will begin implementing the risk mitigating measures according to the attached schedule.Publication Pakistan : Infrastructure Implementation Capacity Assessment(Washington, DC, 2007) World BankThis assessment of the Pakistan Infrastructure Implementation Capacity (PIICA) which was carried out at the request of the GoP validates the view that the Government of Pakistan (GoP) plans to more than triple the infrastructure Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), but remains apprehensive about the capacity to implement such programs. In order to understand and address the issues which typically prevail in the industry, extensive analytical work, assembled around four broad based thematic areas - business environment, human resources, materials, equipment and machinery - was undertaken. The report concludes that the industry stakeholders lack capacity to deliver the planned medium term development framework (MTDF) infrastructure. The study has identified areas in which the GoP needs to carry out further work, detailed assessments and research such as: Rationalizing construction related taxes and tariff structures; Create a best practices project specific delivery organization (GoP could use Diamer or Bhasha Dam as an example) using an integrated construction process; Centralizing data on HR availability and future demand for better planning and management; Streamlining and facilitating import of construction equipment; Studying procedures to assist in improving cash flows on projects; Researching and adopting best practices for technical support, financing and credit facilities for the industry; and Institutional arrangements to provide long-term sustainable development of the industry.Publication Radio Spectrum Management Development in India : A Framework for Strengthening Radio Spectrum Management and Policies(Washington, DC, 2006-06) World BankThis report provides a detailed review of the current spectrum management regime in India; provides a perspective on best practice as may be applied in India and in addition provides a consideration of measures which could be taken to enhance spectrum management activities in India. The radio spectrum in India is a national resource, owned and managed by the Government. The authority for day-to-day spectrum management activities is vested Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) in New Delhi. Formal interfaces have been established with key spectrum user organizations, whose spectrum management staff may be found in other parts of India, remote from the capital city. The spectrum management regime has to date been strongly biased towards fulfilling the needs of the State and serving radio communications requirements funded by public sources. However, during the last 5 to 8 years a demanding private sector has made significant investments in the roll-out of new services and systems. The private sector (and indeed several segments of the public sector) is not entirely satisfied with the level of service provided by the spectrum management organization. This report performs the following functions: 1) it provides a detailed review of the current spectrum management regime in India; 2) it provides a commentary on best practice as may be applied in India in connection with each of the above areas; and 3) it provides a consideration of measures which could be taken to enhance spectrum management activities in India.Publication India : Financing Highways(Washington, DC, 2004-10-21) World BankThis report is designed to provide information and advice to the Indian Union and States Governments on the principles and practicalities for establishing a sound and sustainable system of highway financing. The report reviews the economic principles for establishing efficient and equitable road user charges (road pricing), and examines the potential mechanisms for charging road users. Present road taxation in India is assessed in the light of these considerations as is the levels of highway funding required to meet government objectives. The report reviews the potential contribution of private sector finance to the sector and assesses the present use of private finance and the alternative possibilities for utilizing the private sector in the financing and management of the network. The report also examines the need for an agenda of sector reform which addresses both the financial and institutional frameworks needed to achieve network sustainability and public acceptance of higher user charges.Publication Stabilization and Fiscal Empowerment : The Twin Challenges Facing India's States, Volume 2. Detailed Report(Washington, DC, 2004-05-10) World BankIndia, home to more than one billion people, has experienced rapid growth over the past decade, averaging about six percent per year between 1992/93 and 2003/04. The agenda backed in this report is one that receives widespread support from both the central and state governments in India. The fiscal stress of the late nineties gave rise to an intense state-level reform effort. Six years on, this report documents the many initiatives undertaken by the states to restore fiscal sustainability, and become more effective agents of development. It outlines successes, lessons learnt, and highlights further challenges, on both the expenditure side (chapter two) and the revenue side (chapter three). It also looks at the incentive framework within which the states operate (chapter four), and asks whether there is a feasible reform package that will take the states not only out of fiscal crisis, but strengthened to meet the development challenges which confront them. This chapter provides the context for what follows by outlining the role and increasingly divergent performance of the state governments (section two), and then in turn, the genesis of the fiscal crisis (section three), its developmental impact (section four), the reform response of the state and central governments (section five), and the reform challenges facing the states today (section six). Although associated with an increase in public spending, the fiscal crisis weakened the developmental and poverty impact of state governments, especially in the poorer states; it also called into question India's overall fiscal sustainability. This report is written to help share the lessons and success-stories to date, and to assist states and the central government in implementing the national agenda of state-level fiscal stabilization and empowerment. Given the low levels and the worrying recent trends in both the quantity of expenditure in priority expenditure areas, and the quality of expenditure across the board, there is an urgent need for expenditure restructuring to free up fiscal resources and for reforms to improve the quality of spending. Focus in this chapter on areas where expenditure can be cut rather than where it should be increased is not because we think there are no areas of underfunding. However, which particular areas should be increased, and by how much, will likely vary from state to state, depending on initial conditions, and identified priorities. The areas where savings can be made have much more in common across states, and so are the focuses of this report.