Other Infrastructure Study

2018-12-01, World Bank Group

In 2016 the Government of Egypt (GoE) has embarked on an ambitious and much needed transition towards a better economic policy. While the macroeconomic stability and market confidence have been largely restored, the overall fiscal situation remains challenging. With limited fiscal space, solely relying on public resources to fund infrastructure investments, will no longer be a viable strategy to meet the country's needs. Building on the success of attracting private investment in renewables and natural gas sector, there is significant potential for replicating the success across other infrastructure sectors. Egypt has recognized that in order to raise competitiveness, increase investments in human capital, and sustain the benefits of the homegrown reform; it will need to continuously shift its development model towards creating an enabling environment for the private sector to invest more, export more and generate more jobs. Starting with Energy, Transport, Water and Sanitation and Agriculture, this report highlights the tremendous potential and opportunities available in each of these sectors. Additionally, it also presents a roadmap for sectoral transformation, whilst highlighting the cross-cutting enabling and functional activities required to facilitate this transition.

2014-05, World Bank

The Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area (GCMA), with more than 19 million inhabitants, is host to more than one-fifth of Egypt's population. The GCMA is also an important contributor to the Egyptian economy in terms of GDP and jobs. The population of the GCMA is expected to further increase to 24 million by 2027, and correspondingly its importance to the economy will also increase. Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the GCMA with large and adverse effects on both the quality of life and the economy. In addition to the time wasted standing still in traffic, time that could be put to more productive uses, congestion results in unnecessary fuel consumption, causes additional wear and tear on vehicles, increases harmful emissions lowering air quality, increases the costs of transport for business, and makes the GCMA an unattractive location for businesses and industry. These adverse effects have very real and large monetary and nonmonetary costs not only for the economy of the GCMA, but given its size, for the economy of Egypt as well. As the population of the GCMA continues to increase, traffic congestion is becoming worse and the need to address this congestion is becoming more urgent. This report documents the results of the study. The results of this study should be of interest to policy-makers and practitioners in the GCMA, the Egyptian Government, other cities facing similar problems, and international financial institutions.

2011-04, World Bank

Many opportunities for trade of the Mashreq (Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Syria) countries are being lost because of inefficient trade facilitation processes and procedures, and to a lesser extent because of underdeveloped transport infrastructure. Implementation of the Pan Arab Free Trade Agreement has substantially reduced formal trade barriers between the countries. There is today extensive knowledge on the institutional arrangements for such agencies that work best under different conditions. Trade facilitation and transport services are largely the responsibility of private operators, yet an increase in their effectiveness would come through this agency which would include both private and public sector representation. The institutional proposals included in the short and medium term action plans are designed to create this new context. Recent initiatives within the Arab League to establish sub-regional committees of transport ministers have a similar objective of bringing a more focused attention to addressing trade facilitation issues. The proposal for a corridor management system presented in this report builds on these initiatives and draws on the experience gained from the operation of management systems in other corridors. This study used two analytical tools to assess the major trade and transport impediments to increased trade.

2010-08-01, World Bank

The Republic of Yemen has experienced steady development in the recent past and its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is approaching US$1,000. By many aspects, Yemen is unique. It is still a rural country (with more than 70 percent of the population living in the countryside). It has about 140,000 villages and small settlements spread out all over the territory, many of which still need road access and harbor most of the country's poor (40 percent of the total population). Given the uneven distribution of population, transport demand varies enormously between different parts of the country. It is highest by far in the densely populated mountainous northwest part of the country and generally very small in the vast low density eastern part. Transport is essential to ensure that the rural areas participate in the main stream of economic and social life. Transport is also essential for trade, which is a key to the future of the economy. This is reinforced by the fact that most of the population is located away from the coastal areas, including the capital city, Sana'a, in some of the most difficult terrain one could find in any country of the world. This report comprises three main parts: (i) a broad assessment of the situation of the Yemeni road sector and a comparison with countries similar to Yemen; (ii) an analysis of the sector's main issues; and (iii) an agenda for reform.

2018, World Bank

The Mashreq countries must fully leverage digital infrastructure as well as their relative strengths in transforming their economies. The report lays out the strategic importance of digital infrastructure for countries in the region, takes stock of its status, and provides recommendations. Countries studied are: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria. Digital infrastructure covers the broadband value chain: international connectivity, Internet exchange points (IXPs), backbone networks, and access networks. It identifies the main elements of broadband networks in the Mashreq, assesses the potential of data centers and regional IXPs, and provides benchmarks on key sector indicators for the region. The second part of the report looks in detail at the importance of regional digital infrastructure for key sectors of the Mashreq economy, relates digital infrastructure to the overall development program of the Mashreq, and presents emerging research in private sector digital platforms in the region. It concludes that there is a substantial cross-infrastructure agenda both at the national, but more importantly, at the regional level, as energy and transport networks can be effectively used to expand broadband access in the region both across and within countries. The report presents several opportunities for the Mashreq governments to take advantage of and improve their digital infrastructure and the verticals that build on it. The report also highlights the opportunity to develop regional digital services for trade diversification, growth, and economic integration as a foundation for the emergence of a digital economy. Finally, the report stresses the importance of digital transformation, highlighting opportunities in key sectors, including health, education, urban development, and social services for migrant communities.

2013-05, World Bank

The Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area (GCMA), with more than 19 million inhabitants, is host to more than one-fifth of Egypt's population. The GCMA is also an important contributor to the Egyptian economy in terms of GDP and jobs. The population of the GCMA is expected to further increase to 24 million by 2027, and correspondingly its importance to the economy will also increase. Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the GCMA with large and adverse effects on both the quality of life and the economy. In addition to the time wasted standing still in traffic, time that could be put to more productive uses, congestion results in unnecessary fuel consumption, causes additional wear and tear on vehicles, increases harmful emissions lowering air quality, increases the costs of transport for business, and makes the GCMA an unattractive location for businesses and industry. These adverse effects have very real and large monetary and nonmonetary costs not only for the economy of the GCMA, but given its size, for the economy of Egypt as well. As the population of the GCMA continues to increase, traffic congestion is becoming worse and the need to address this congestion is becoming more urgent. In recognition of the seriousness of the problem of traffic congestion, and upon the request of Government, primarily the Ministries of Finance, Transport, Housing, and Interior, the World Bank funded an investigation into its magnitude, causes, and potential solutions in the GCMA. This report documents the results of the study. The results of this study should be of interest to policy-makers and practitioners in the GCMA, the Egyptian Government, other cities facing similar problems, and international financial institutions.

2010-09-01, World Bank

Yemen, the fastest urbanizing country in the Middle East and North Africa region, has a very limited natural resource base and the efficiency of its cities is therefore essential for its future economic growth. However, this efficiency is increasingly handicapped by the poor performance of urban transport, especially in the capital Sana'a. This report presents the main findings of this review and makes key recommendations to improve the efficiency of urban transport in Sana'a. It contains the following chapters: a first chapter presents the general context of the study, characterized by fast demographic and spatial growth in Sana'a, causing major difficulties in terms of urban transport management; a second chapter analyses and describes the main underlying issues affecting the performance and efficiency of Sana'a transport system; a third chapter presents institutional, technical and financing recommendations to improve the performance of Sana'a transport system; and a fourth chapter presents a tentative three-year action plan for implementation of the recommendations.

2016-11, World Bank

Morocco strives to reach a similar per capita income level to that of upper-middle income countries, and to reduce unemployment, which particularly affects women and youth. To meet these goals, the government recognizes the need to shift from a low-technology economy with a strong agricultural component to a more diversified economy focused on services and high value-adding industries. As the World Bank World Development Report 2016 highlights, broadband is one of the decisive factors in a nation's competitiveness. Deploying broadband is essential to improve Morocco's international competitiveness and to attract foreign investment. Rolling out broadband is of strategic importance for Morocco, as the country aims to consolidate its promising position in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. This note is organized in three sections:(i) section one provides a summary analysis of recent economic studies that measured the impacts generated by access to and use of ICT and broadband on the economy; (ii) section two analyzes public policies implemented by the Moroccan government since the 1990s, and their impact on the sector; and (iii) section 3 presents the main reforms that the World Bank would recommend that the government carry out in the broadband sector to give itself the means to fulfill its ambitions and finish opening up the broadband sector to competition.

2012-06, World Bank

Within a partnership framework with the Emirate of Dubai, the government of Djibouti has developed, during the last decade, an outstanding port and logistics hub with few precedents in other African countries. The objective of the present study is to strengthen the competitiveness of the ports of Djibouti (old port of Djibouti and new port of Doraleh) and ensure their medium-term and long-term development by designing a modern and efficient regulation system for private port operators, and specifically addressing issues related to the quality of service and pricing, in addition to institutional related issues. The port of Djibouti's competitiveness can be measured by its capacity to counter competition from other ports through the quality of its infrastructures and services, performance and port costs. Real or potential competition facing the port of Djibouti concerns non-captive traffic and its two components, transit and transshipment traffic. The port of Djibouti's natural competitors for Ethiopia's transit traffic are the ports of Berbera, Assab, Massawa, Port Soudan and Mombasa due to landlocked Ethiopia's extensive terrestrial borders with Somalia, Eritrea, Soudan, and Kenya. But this competition remains potential and very marginal due to the unfavorable geopolitical context and/or the inferior quality of infrastructures of these ports. Conditions of competition regarding transit traffic could nevertheless evolve as it is in Ethiopia's natural interest to diversify its sea-access routes so as not to depend on a single port that may be tempted to abuse of its dominant position with non-competitive tariffs. Contrary to existing competition on container transshipment traffic, potential competition on transit traffic will have a more considerable impact on all Djibouti port operators in terms of tonnage handled and revenue loss, as it will affect all types of traffic (conventional and containerized, liquid and dry bulk) and because transit charges are considerably more lucrative than transshipment charges. Port activities that need to be regulated to reinforce the port of Djibouti's competitiveness are the commercial services for cargos and vessels provided by port operators.

2010-09-01, World Bank

Yemen, the fastest urbanizing country in the Middle East and North Africa region, has a very limited natural resource base and the efficiency of its cities is therefore essential for its future economic growth. However, this efficiency is increasingly handicapped by the poor performance of urban transport, especially in the capital Sana'a. This report presents the main findings of this review and makes key recommendations to improve the efficiency of urban transport in Sana'a. It contains the following chapters: a first chapter presents the general context of the study, characterized by fast demographic and spatial growth in Sana'a, causing major difficulties in terms of urban transport management; a second chapter analyses and describes the main underlying issues affecting the performance and efficiency of Sana'a transport system; a third chapter presents institutional, technical and financing recommendations to improve the performance of Sana'a transport system; and a fourth chapter presents a tentative three-year action plan for implementation of the recommendations.