Other Infrastructure Study

377 items available

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

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Digital Technology for Traceability in Vietnam’s Fruit and Vegetable Value Chains
(Washington, DC, 2022-12) World Bank
The purpose of this study was to assess the current state of existing traceability systems in Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable (F&V) value chains, examine pertinent policies and regulations, share international good practices and explore their potential applicability to Vietnam, and examine the current legal and institutional framework governing agri-food traceability in Vietnam and some major export markets (for example, the European Union [EU], Italy, China, and the Republic of Korea [Korea]). The study identified potential intervention areas and made recommendations to policy makers and food business operators (FBOs) in Vietnam regarding the implementation of digital traceability systems and the regulatory environmentthat facilitates their use. The interventions aim to contribute to lowering the incidence levels of specific hazards in perishable products in the F&V value chains, increasing FBOs’ compliance, enhancing consumer awareness of food safety, and strengthening the food safety regulatory system. Additionally, the interventions would contribute to re-establishing public confidence in the quality and safety of Vietnamese agri-food as well as its current food safety oversight regime.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Contracts in An Age of Disruption
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-09) World Bank Group
The objective of this report is to help governments of emerging economies to better understand the increasing impact of disruptive technologies on PPP infrastructure projects. The report also seeks to provide guidance on how to manage existing PPP contracts and design future ones at a time when emerging technologies areproviding opportunities for innovation, and new business models can be essential for economic growth and private sector development in emerging markets. In addition, the report intends to encourage further debate among stakeholders involved in PPP projects about the scope and type of technological disruption they have encountered, as well as approaches to manage associated risks and to encourage innovation.
Navigating Beyond COVID-19: Airline Recovery and Regulatory Reform Opportunities in Southern Africa
(Washington, DC, 2022-09) World Bank
This policy paper explores airline restructuring and regulatory reform challenges and opportunities in the Southern African region with particular focus on Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the air transport sector in the region faced multipronged challenges, including those related to economic regulation, profitability, safety, security, and sustainable financing of critical infrastructure. Much like the rest of Africa, the region is characterized by the dominance of troubled state-owned airlines which have been unable to generate meaningful positive returns for many years due to structural inefficiencies and weak governance. They faced elevated costs and needed several bailouts and turnaround strategies, albeit unsuccessful.
Bangladesh Land Acquisition Diagnostic Review: Legal and Institutional Framework, Procedures and Practices - Analysis of the Challenges of and Proposals for Strengthening the Country’s Land Acquisition System
(Washington, DC, 2022-08) World Bank
Bangladesh has experienced a rapid pace of economic growth in the last two decades, with notable achievements across several social development parameters. To ensure sustained higher economic growth, the government of Bangladesh (GoB) aims to expand infrastructure related investment in the areas of strategic connectivity, industrialization, tourism development, and trade promotion, all of which require a significant amount of land. Age-old legal and institutional legacies and practices, issues pertaining to institutional capacity, and the lack of interoperability between departments involved in land administration make the overall land acquisition (LA) process extremely complicated and lengthy, with the scarcity of land making it even more challenging. The overall objective of the study was to assess the challenges and identify a mechanism for system strengthening and the scope of needed legal and institutional reform to improve the speed, accuracy, and accountability of the LA process. This report is presented in five chapters that discuss the study method, the analysis of the existing system and its challenges, measures to address the challenges, and the scope of possible legal and institutional reform. After introducing the study in this chapter, Chapter 2 discusses the country’s LA system and the process in practice. Chapter 3 describes the overall land administration in Bangladesh, including the method for transferring property rights, the creation and updating of khatians, and the complexity involved in the ownership decision process, one of the primary causes of delays in the payment of compensation. Chapter 4 presents the key challenges in the LA process, from the frustrations faced by IAs, who watch the timelines for their projects extended years longer than planned, to the worries and concerns of affected landowners waiting for compensation. Chapter 5 presents the proposals for improving and strengthening aspects of the LA process, including pertinent issues identified for possible land administration reform.
Reconsidering Sites and Services: A Global Review
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-06-07) World Bank
Affordable housing demand in many developing countries outstrips supply. With the market unable to meet low-income housing demand, governments are hard pressed to provide lasting solutions. With the market unable to meet low-income housing demand, governments are hard pressed to provide lasting solutions. In the past, governments and partners have tried several approaches such as social housing, sites and services, slum upgrading and rent subsidies programs. In this context, the World Bank has carried out this review to explore the potential for sites and services as an option for solving the housing crisis for the poor. The assessment reviewed secondary literature comprising of academic papers on sites and services and reports of both World Bank and non-Bank project evaluations across different regions and time. The study also critically analyzed how building technologies, and and housing conditions have changed over time in favour of or against sites and services. Section 1 provides a brief context giving pivotal timelines in the evolution of sites and services. Section 2 examines the outcomes of the approach and draws key lessons from the first generation of sites and services. Lastly, the paper presents guiding principles for future sites and services.
Digital Economy for Latin America and the Caribbean: Country Diagnostic - El Salvador
(Washington, DC, 2022-04) World Bank
The widespread adoption of digital technologies is transforming how individuals, businesses, and governments interact, as well as creating new opportunities for boosting shared prosperity and reducing poverty. Digital technologies are playing an increasingly important role in El Salvador’s economic development and will play an even larger role as the global economy continues to digitize. Digital transformation can help El Salvador address its persistent growth challenges and explore new avenues toward green, resilient, and inclusive development. This report builds on the strategic priorities of the digital agenda (DA) 2020-2030, assesses the state of digital economy development in El Salvador, and provides detailed analysis and policy recommendations to inform the reform agenda in the country. The report provides a comprehensive overview El Salvador’s digital economy development across six foundational elements of a digital economy: digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses, digital skills, and trust environment. The diagnostic and recommendations are based on analysis of secondary data, structured interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions with key government and private sector stakeholders. The findings of the report are organized in six chapters - each dealing with a pillar of the digital economy. Policy recommendations are presented in the form of sequenced action plans that can inform relevant efforts by national authorities, the private sector, and development partners. The report summarizes the main findings on each digital economy pillar.
Carbon Revenues From International Shipping: Enabling an Effective and Equitable Energy Transition - Summary for Policymakers
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-04-01) Dominioni, Goran; Englert, Dominik; Salgmann, Rico; Brown, Jennifer
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is currently considering developing market-based measures to meet the objectives of its Initial Strategy on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (Initial IMO GHG Strategy). While market-based measures are to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping as a matter of priority, some types of market-based measures, e.g. carbon levies or a cap-and-trade scheme without free distribution of emissions allowances, can raise significant revenues—thereby enabling an additional set of actions. Strategically using these revenues also appears more favorable than applying exemptions to address important equity considerations. Hence, the study investigates the unique potential of revenue-raising market-based measures to enable an effective and equitable energy transition and explores three questions: What could carbon revenues from international shipping be used for, who could be the recipients of such revenues, and how can adequate management of carbon revenues from international shipping be imagined? The study considers seven main revenue use options, of which some revenue uses appear more aligned with guiding principles of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy and other key desirable features (e.g., ability to deliver greater climate and development outcomes) than others. The analysis also suggests that splitting carbon revenues between the shipping sector and the use outside the sector could be a viable way forward. As primary recipients of carbon revenues, governments appear to be most suitable given the often blurred links between companies and countries in international shipping. However, to maximize climate and development outcomes, a share of carbon revenues may also be channeled to the private sector, including the shipping industry. The report stresses that expertise and experience from existing climate finance funds and international development organizations offering trustee services could be leveraged to inform and operationalize the management of carbon revenues from international shipping and to minimize transaction costs.
Digital and Telecom: Myanmar Infrastructure Monitoring
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-31) World Bank
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.
Transport and Logistics: Myanmar Infrastructure Monitoring
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-31) World Bank
Transport and logistics services in Myanmar have been substantially hit by the impacts of the February 2021 coup and the surge in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. Logistics companies have been affected by rising fuel prices, border closures, and a shortage of shipping containers. While the initial effects after the military coup on the transport sector were extremely severe, there have been signs of some recovery of transport services since May 2021. Public transport in Yangon experienced a significant reduction in passenger demand in early months after the coup, subsequently recovering some ground by December 2021. Higher fuel prices and currency liquidity shortages significantly increased the cost of inland transport services. Transportation and logistics services are expected to be severely impacted by continuing high fuel prices, mobility constrains, political instability, and evolution of the pandemic. The export and import via container are expected to recover gradually due to agricultural and garment industry-led demand. However, improvement of exports and imports in the medium term is uncertain given the complexity of trade relations with international trade partners. In addition to effects of the coup and political conflicts, risks related to the pandemic will also significantly impact logistics supply chains and mobility in the near to mid-term.
Energy Sector: MyanmarvInfrastructure Monitoring
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-31) World Bank
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.