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.

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.

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.