Other Infrastructure Study
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Publication
A Blue Transformation for Pacific Maritime Transport: Overarching Regional Transport
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-06-29)This report has eight chapters. Following the introduction (Pacific Peoples and the Sea), the next six chapters each focus on a separate significant component of Pacific maritime transport, analyzing the major influences and challenges, and, where relevant, key areas for future attention. The topics are: international shipping, gateway ports, domestic maritime transport, four related sectors, cruise ship tourism, tuna fisheries, fossil fuel imports, and bulk shipping, natural disasters and climate resilience, and sector governance and institutions. The final chapter, transforming pacific maritime transport, ways forward, distils the report’s findings into the most significant and far-reaching opportunities to transform maritime transport in the Pacific. These are grouped into three broad themes, infrastructure, services, and governance and capacity building. Ways Forward comes at the end and, for readers unable to view the whole report, is a good place to begin. The rest of this executive summary explains why the Pacific is a special case for investment and provides a summary of the main chapters and findings. But first, it describes which Pacific Island countries contributed to the study. -
Publication
Digital and Telecom: Myanmar Infrastructure Monitoring
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-31)Myanmar has experienced a series of total and partial internet shutdowns since the military coup in February 2021. These restrictions have varied in intensity across the country and over time, ranging from the complete shutdown of all wireless broadband services and nightly shutdowns of fixed line services between February and April 2021, followed by limited access to a whitelist of websites and services and intermittent subnational shutdowns starting in May 2021. The restrictions on internet access have had a profound impact on investments in the sector, subsequently affecting the growth of digital infrastructure and digitally enabled services in Myanmar. Internet restrictions have also had important implications on household welfare, firm operations, and growth of the digital economy in Myanmar. New regulations, market exit by private sector providers, and continued internet restrictions threaten to reverse the progress made over the last decade. Continued internet restrictions can lead to further restraint of online economic activity and closure of many young digital start-ups that rely on consistent, reliable, and widespread internet adoption to reach markets. -
Publication
Energy Sector: MyanmarvInfrastructure Monitoring
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-31)Myanmar’s energy sector has been severely affected by the dual shocks of the February 2021 coup and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Developments in the energy sector after the coup have undermined nascent energy sector reforms over the last few years, including reforms that led to improved service delivery, restructured electricity tariffs, and increased electricity access. Constraints in human resources resulting from the dismissal of over 4,400 staff in key entities and departments under the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MoEE) has put power sector operation at risk. Public boycott of electricity payments and rising costs of electricity due to dollar-denominated independent power producers have adversely affected the financial viability of the power sector. The political instability in the aftermath of the coup has led to significant operational and financial burdens on the sector, affecting the sector financial viability and fiscal sustainability. Investor confidence has plummeted amid uncertainty and a worsening investment climate, jeopardizing the implementation of approved power projects, including renewable solar. While the global commodity rally continues, there are serious challenges ahead, including the need for skilled labor to ensure electricity reliability, maintain the security of power infrastructure, and increase electricity revenues. -
Publication
Transport Asset Management Plan Guideline for Climate Resilience and Road Safety (Phase I) for the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-01)This is the first iteration of a Transport Asset Management Planning (TAMP) Guideline for Ulaanbaatar. This TAMP Guideline I guides the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (MUB) to move away from its conventional reactive decision-making approach and adopt a systematic, evidence- and risk-based approach in maintaining its road assets. The reactive way of doing business, which postpones repair activities until major deterioration occurs, is no longer sustainable. It is too expensive, and it erodes the value of important and costly road assets. As the costs of operating and repairing roads continue to increase, it has become more difficult for the MUB to meet the demands of an aging and expanding infrastructure while dealing with public expectations to provide the same level of service. This TAMP Guideline can therefore serve as a medium- and long-term tactical guide for MUB to plan for repair and maintenance of its transport assets to provide good quality road network to UB’s citizens while optimizing the use of its scarce financial resources for maintenance and repairs. The TAMP incorporates two key risks that strain the performance and safety of UB’s road network: climate risks (particularly urban flooding) and road safety risks. -
Publication
Sustainable Development of Inland Waterways Transport in Vietnam: Strengthening the Regulatory, Institutional and Funding Frameworks
(Washington, DC, 2022)Vietnam has a long history of using its rivers and canals for transportation of goods and people. Today, Vietnam’s waterways transport about 17 percent of all domestic goods tonage loaded in Vietnam and perform nearly 19 percent of all traffic tasks, a measure which combines both tonnes loaded and distance carried. These are very high levels by international standards, and Vietnam’s national freight task proportion is more than double that for China, the United States, and the European Union where inland waterways are also prevalent. Right after its integration into the international economic community in the late 1980s, Vietnam listed the development of inland waterways transport as one of its priorities to boost economic growth. Overcoming financing constraints, the country has made enormous strides in developing its inland waterways transport by efficiently exploiting the natural conditions of its rivers and canals. However, exploiting only the natural conditions of Vietnam’s inland waterways could diminish the country’s competitive advantage over time. In order to bring the waterways’ great potential into reality, further investment is required in the institutional structure, in strengthening the legal and regulatory framework, and in improvement of the funding framework for the sector. This report provides a comprehensive review and assessment of the challenges that the sector faces, along with a reform program recommended to the government of Vietnam that could help improve the enabling environment for the inland waterways transport industry and further its growth and technical sophistication. -
Publication
Beyond Unicorns: Harnessing Digital Technologies for Inclusion in Indonesia
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-07-28)Similar to many other countries around the world, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has hit Indonesia hard. Latest estimates suggest that about 5.1 million people—equivalent to 2.4 percent of the working-age population—have lost their jobs, while an additional 24 million have had to work reduced hours due to the pandemic. As many as 50 percent of workers have experienced a reduction in earnings. The impact on living standards has been devastating, with more than 2.2 million Indonesians estimated to have been pushed into COVID-19-induced poverty in 2020. One unexpected silver lining from the crisis, however, has been the turbo-charged adoption of digital technologies. Businesses, both large and small, have flocked to digital technologies to try to ensure the continuity of their operations. School closures have forced students and teachers to adapt and explore digitally enabled remote learning options, including the adoption of a variety of EdTech solutions. HealthTech apps enabling remote consultations and the delivery of medicine have seen unprecedented growth in adoption rates. Confined at home due to mobility restrictions, Indonesians have switched to the internet for their entertainment and social needs, driving sharp growth in the usage of digital media (music and video streaming) and communications applications. With this pandemic-induced flight to digital expected to be permanent to a large extent, there is excitement about an even greater acceleration in what was already the fastest growing digital economy in Southeast Asia. But at the same time questions have also emerged about the possibility of the differential access to and adoption of digital technologies compounding existing inequalities. For a country that considers achieving balanced development one of its key priorities, this is an important new challenge. -
Publication
Road Safety Management Capacity Assessment for Vanuatu
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06-01)This Road Safety Management Capacity Assessment (RSMCA) seeks to gain a broad understanding of the Government of Vanuatu's road safety management capacity to support its plans to improve road safety outcomes throughout the country. The RSMCA follows the seven critical road safety institutional management functions (Bliss and Breen 2013) to identify key challenges and provide recommendations for improvement in road safety management, and similarly addresses the Safe System pillars for the interventions level. The seven institutional management functions include: results focus, coordination, legislation, finance and resource allocation, promotion and advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, and research and development of knowledge transfer. The Safe System pillars include road safety management, safe roads and mobility, safe vehicles, safe road users, post-crash care, and safe speeds. The RSMCA’s alignment with both the road safety institutional management functions and the Safe System Approach in turn aims to help the Government of Vanuatu to prioritize targeted next steps to address road crash death and serious injury in the country. -
Publication
Road Safety Data Assessment in Viet Nam for the Establishment of a National Road Safety Observatory
(World Bank, Hanoi, 2021-03)The World Bank has been assisting the Government of Viet Nam (GoVN), through the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), to establish a National Road Safety Observatory (NRSO) for Viet Nam, improve road safety data systems, and update the National Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan for Viet Nam. Input to the updated national strategy observed that there is insufficient attention given to the overall results framework (beyond simply the number of fatalities and serious injuries) that is required to achieve significant and sustainable reductions in serious road trauma. This reflects a need to strengthen both national governance and leadership arrangements for road safety, and road safety data systems (including road crash data systems), which are the focus of this report. -
Publication
Mongolia InfraSAP: Infrastructure for Connectivity and Economic Diversification
(World Bank, Ulaanbaatar, 2020-11-10)Like many emerging economies, policy discussions on social and economic growth in Mongolia often gravitate to transport, energy and digital infrastructure as the backbone. ‘What infrastructure?’ and ‘infrastructure for what?’ are equally important questions given the aspirations to unlock new drivers of growth beyond mining and export of primary products. Mongolia’s vast territorial expanse and low population density create unique challenges for economic development in general and infrastructure investments in particular. Sandwiched between China and the Russia, two of the largest countries and economies in the world, Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world. With just over 3.2 million people inhabiting a territory of 1.564 million square kilometers (more than six times the size of the United Kingdom and less than a third the population of London), Mongolia has a population density of 2.1 people per square kilometer. About half the population—some 1.4 million people—live in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. The rest of the population is spread across small urban centers and vast steppes. Given the spatial and density challenges, the conventional ‘build and they shall come’ approach to developing infrastructure has proved sub-optimal. Mongolia has some of the largest average transport distances (600km) and highest logistics costs (30% of GDP). The infrastructure challenge is made worse by the limited financing options. This infraSAP presents a more sophisticated approach which incorporates strategic value chain analysis and disaggregated modeling of freight movements, and then targets infrastructure investment for amplified impact. In this approach, infrastructure is located at the highest concentrations of economic activity and is developed as part of an integrated national logistics system. This surgical approach informs more targeted policy decisions on how to use scarce resources to accelerate economic diversification and competitiveness while addressing institutional bottlenecks. -
Publication
Road Safety Management Capacity Assessment for Samoa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-11-01)This Road Safety Management Capacity Assessment (RSMCA) seeks to gain a broad understanding of the Government of Samoa’s road safety management capacity to support its plans to improve road safety outcomes throughout the country. The RSMCA follows the seven critical road safety institutional management functions (Bliss and Breen 2013) to identify key challenges and provide recommendations for improvement in road safety management, and similarly addresses the Safe System pillars for the interventions level. The seven institutional management functions include: results focus, coordination, legislation, finance and resource allocation, promotion and advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, and research and development of knowledge transfer. The Safe System pillars include road safety management, safe roads and mobility, safe vehicles, safe road users, post-crash care, and safe speeds. The RSMCA’s alignment with both the road safety institutional management functions and the Safe System Approach in turn aims to help the Government of Samoa to prioritize targeted next steps to address road crash death and serious injury in the country.