Other Infrastructure Study

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The Mexican Tourism Sector as a Driver of Shared Growth
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-11-18) Aguilera, Nelly; Velázquez, César; Montesinos, Alejandro
The goal of this paper is to estimate (with the data available) the impact of tourism as a factor of shared growth at the local or municipal level in Mexico. This country provides an excellent research example due to its socioeconomic characteristics, the fact that tourism is an important economic activity and that, in spite of not having an ideal database to prove empirically that tourism is associated to shared growth, there are reliable databases that combined may provide insightful information. The main findings are: first, tourist destinations in general have better economic conditions that neighbor communities. Second, in general we find that growth in tourism (growth in tourism related employment) is associated to more employment, to lower percentage of population working in social security, and to better figures in the Human Development Index (HDI). It has also been found that growth in maquila and oil industries do not present these positive impacts.
Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) for Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Bangladesh : Final Implementation Plan
(Washington, DC, 2009-10) World Bank
In 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.
Indonesia - Investing in the future of Papua and West Papua : Infrastructure for sustainable development
(World Bank, 2009-10-01) World Bank
The remote and sparsely populated provinces of Papua and West Papua face a time of great change. Monetary transfers from Jakarta have grown extraordinarily in recent years, by more than 600 percent in real terms and 1300 percent in nominal terms since 2000, greatly increasing demand for goods and services. The high price of imports in the interior is producing pressure to improve roads in order to lower transport costs. Pressure is mounting to open up the interior of the region to commercial interests that would like to extract resources: copper, gold, coal, petroleum, natural gas, and, above all, timber. Investment in infrastructure, especially in road transport, is seen as the means to make dreams of development a reality. Building infrastructure in Papua and West Papua also is challenging because of physical (i.e. topographical and geological) conditions. Much of the region has either poorly drained peat soils or steep slopes with thin soils subject to landslides and erosion. Most of Papua and West Papua also receive heavy seasonal rainfall. The cost of building a good, well-planned road into the highlands is Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) 6 to 10 billion per kilometer, far more than has been budgeted in the past. Combined with the low population density (a region three times the size of Java has a population smaller than that of Lombok), this means that it takes bigger networks of roads and power to serve the population. Moreover, such infrastructure has been inadequately maintained. As a result, especially outside urban areas, there is too little to show for past investments in roads, water supply systems, or power generating capacity. The aim of this report is: (i) to lay out the challenges that faces infrastructure planners and implementers in the central, provincial, and Kabupaten and Kota governments in a clear manner; and (ii) provide those planners and implementers with recommendations, based on the best information available, on how to mitigate the effects of these challenges.
Transport Development Priorities in Papua and West Papua
(World Bank, 2009-10-01) World Bank
The province of Papua of the Republic of Indonesia was provided special autonomy under law 21-2001 in recognition of the fact that 'the management and use of the natural wealth of Tanah Papua has not yet been optimally utilized to enhance the living standard of the natives, causing a deep gap between the Papua province and the other regions, and violations of the basic rights of the Papuan people.' The goal of special autonomy was to help Papua and Papuans catch up to the rest of Indonesia in terms of living standards and opportunities. Yet, now almost a decade later, and after the split into two provinces: Papua and West Papua, progress toward this goal has been slow. In recognition of this, the Indonesian central government issued presidential instruction 5-2007 on the acceleration of development of Papua and West Papua instructing all relevant technical ministries to devote special attention to the two provinces and to coordinate their programs with the governors of both provinces. Transport is a key piece of the development puzzle and is a high priority for all levels of government in Papua and West Papua. Yet, despite this, and large amounts of investment channeled toward the sector, the people of Papua and West Papua are not receiving substantially better transportation services than they were before special autonomy. This report aims to set out a set of priorities that transport development must follow in Papua and West Papua if investments are to be productive and remain useful for their entire design life.
Air Transport : Challenges to Growth
(World Bank, 2009-06-01) World Bank
The air transport market in Sub-Saharan Africa presents a strong dichotomy. In Southern and East Africa the market is growing: three strong hubs and three major African carriers dominate international and domestic markets, which are becoming increasingly concentrated. In contrast, in Central and West Africa the sector is stagnating, with the vacuum created by the collapse of Cote d'Ivoire and the demise of several regional airlines, including Air Afrique, still unfilled. Throughout, there are many unviable small state-owned operations that depend on subsidies and have a monopoly over the domestic market. There are also some promising signs: growth in air traffic has been buoyant, the number of routes and the size of aircraft are being adapted to the market, and a number of large carriers are viable and expanding. But in spite of this, overall connectivity has been declining. As oil prices rise, the role of air transportation will be looked at even more critically. Africa is a poor continent, and some countries face the potential of further isolation as the cost of flying increases. At a time when Africa's infrastructure requirements are being widely debated, a more complete inventory of air transport capabilities is sought. This report will focus on industry organization within Africa; overall accessibility; and the quality of oversight and infrastructure installations countrywide and at selected airports with various capacities. Beyond data collected from questionnaires sent directly to the civil aviation authorities (CAAs) in each country, this report relies on data collected through a variety of other sources, especially from the providers of flight schedules to global reservation systems, for an independent analysis of trends.
Infrastructure in Latin America : An Update, 1980-2006
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2009-05-29) Calderón, César; Servén, Luis
This paper documents the trends in infrastructure in major Latin American economies over the last quarter century. Drawing from an expanded and updated data set, the paper sheds light on the region's infrastructure performance along four major dimensions. First, the paper documents the trends in the quantity of Latin America's infrastructure assets, using a comparative cross-regional perspective. Second, the paper presents a battery of indicators of the quality of infrastructure services, taking the same comparative perspective. Third, the paper reviews Latin America's performance in terms of the universality of access to infrastructure services. Lastly, the paper offers a detailed account of the trends in infrastructure investment in Latin America's six major economies since 1980, disaggregated by both sector of origin (public and private) and destination (power, transport and telecommunications).
Southern Mongolia Infrastructure Strategy
(Washington, DC, 2009) World Bank
This report is concerned with the development of the infrastructure which is required in order to support proposed mines in Southern Mongolia. In order for the mines to be developed, it will be necessary to provide towns for the new inhabitants, road and rail links to provide supplies and to transport the mines' products to markets, and electricity for the mines' operations. Water resources need to be investigated and supplied to the mines and towns. And as all of the development advances, consideration needs to be given to mitigating any negative environmental and social impacts. The geographic focus of the report varies according to the particular topic. The mines are all located in a region which this report defines as 'Southern Mongolia', and which includes the images of Omnogovi, Dornogovi, Govisumber and Dundgovi. The majority of the important new mines are located in Omnogovi, and the analysis of housing and social impacts is concentrated in areas close to these mines. In terms of time, the report concentrates on the most important priorities for government action up to 2015. Nevertheless, consideration is given to a longer time-horizon when considering the potential environmental and water resource demands likely to arise as a result of the region's development. The report is not concerned with the longer-term actions required for broader economic development of the region, including the development of value-added industries associated with the mining industry. To get to long-term objectives, it is necessary to start with the short term. This report assumes that the Government will permit development of the mines in the near future.
An Expressway Development Strategy for Vietnam
(Washington, DC, 2008-12) World Bank
Vietnam's rapid economic growth continues to create new demands for transport infrastructure and services. Bottlenecks to business activities caused by infrastructure constraints are already appearing in several areas. High rates of urbanization, rising traffic accidents, new capacity constraints, and a large increase in asset preservation requirements to meet the fast expansion of transport assets presents further challenges to the sector. To address these infrastructure bottlenecks, and to gradually remove the transport constraints on industry, Vietnam is embarking on an ambitious expressway development program. To date the transport sector has facilitated this growth principally through the rehabilitation and widening of existing arterial roads. The national road network has expanded to 17,000 km, the overall condition has improved with 66 percent of the network being in good and fair condition and 84 percent of the network is now paved. If traffic growth rates continue at their current rate these constraints could adversely impact future economic development. The successful development of an expressway system is a significant physical and financial commitment which will require a number of changes to laws, regulations, institutions and operations of the network.
Colombia : Inputs for Sub-Regional Competitiveness Policies
(Washington, DC, 2008-06) World Bank
In recent years, the Government of Colombia (GoC) has placed a high priority on competitiveness. Increasing globalization trends and Colombia's decision to increase trade integration, with the negotiation of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, has led the government to focus on a complementary agenda to boost competitiveness in order to reap the benefits of increased trade integration. A bottom-up process of consultation, known as the Domestic Agenda, was launched with the aims of identifying key constraints at the local and sector levels and developing a set of competitiveness-oriented measures. This study aims at helping the GoC to fine-tune the mix of policies and actions to assist its regions in meeting development challenges and grasping opportunities from trade liberalization. Defining competitiveness as policies and actions to increase total factor productivity (TFP), this report seeks to provide inputs for the establishment of a strategy for sub regional competitiveness and growth through both examining the recent literature on the main instruments directed towards these objectives and evaluating sub-regional endowments, capacity, productive structure and the determinants of productivity levels in selected regions of Colombia. Three key areas for competitiveness are further explored: (a) overall investment climate; (b) infrastructure and logistics; and (c) human capital and innovation.
Zimbabwe Infrastructure Dialogue in Roads, Railways, Water, Energy, and Telecommunication Sub-Sectors
(Washington, DC, 2008-06) World Bank
In the 1990s, Zimbabwe's economic growth began to slow following a balance of payments crisis and repeated droughts. By the late 1990s Zimbabwe's economy was in serious trouble driven by economic mismanagement, political violence, and the wider impact of the land reform program on food production. During 2007 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contract by more than 6 percent, making the cumulative output decline over 35 percent since 1999. The unrelenting economic deterioration is doing long-term damage to the foundations of the Zimbabwean economy, private sector investment is virtually zero, infrastructure has deteriorated, and skilled professionals have left the country. With inflation accelerating, the Government introduced, in 2007, blanket price controls and ordered businesses to cut prices by half. Despite the strict price controls inflation continues to rise as the root cause of high inflation, monetization of the large public sector financing needs remains unaddressed. A large part of the high public sector deficit is due to quasi-fiscal spending by the central bank on mainly concessional credits and subsidized foreign exchange for priority sectors, unrealized exchange rate losses, and losses incurred by the central bank's open market operations to mop up liquidities.