Transport Papers
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Publication
Measures to Reduce the Economic and Social Impact of High Fuel Prices
(Washington, DC, 2011)High volatility in the world prices of petroleum has been a characteristic feature of the global economy in the last decade. World petroleum prices increased four-fold between 2004 and 2008 and, and following a drop in prices in the second half of 2008, petroleum prices have been rising again, and they are several times higher than they were two decades ago. Since high and volatility of prices is likely to be a permanent feature of the global economy for the foreseeable future, they merit a reconsideration of the national transport and taxation policies that were put in place when fuel prices were not such a significant component of trade-related transactions costs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Transport practices that were based on the assumption of low price of fuel are not sustainable, and policies neglect fuel efficiency considerations through lowering the fuel consumption of vehicles measures are no longer sustainable. Efficient and low transport cost is essential to achieve regional economic integration and strengthen Africa's competitiveness in external markets. Higher diesel prices also impact on the prices of all other goods which use diesel as an intermediate input. The most significant among them with implications for the poor in low-income developing countries is food, on which the poor spend a disproportionately high share of their total household expenditures. This report is in three parts in the first part, transport fuel prices in the countries of SSA are compared with those of other regions of the world. The comparison is not only in terms of the actual retail prices but also, but taking account of per capita incomes and truck revenues, also in terms of affordability. This Part also provides evidence of the make-up of transport fuel prices in SSA countries, as a first step in assessing how they can be dealt with. The second part provides new evidence of the impact of these high fuel prices on the export competiveness of a sample of six SSA countries. It also provides a shorter description of the results of a study of the impact of fuel prices on logistics costs in Central America, since so far there have not been any studies of the impact of high transport fuel prices on logistics and food costs in SSA countries. The third part deals with the ways in which the impact of high transport fuel prices can be addressed. Two main areas of action are described, those that would reduce the retail price of transport fuel and those that would increase fuel efficiency, so they impact of high prices would be reduced. This section focuses on diesel fuel, as this is by far the most used by the trucks that transport export products and are involved in domestic logistics. This section concludes with some ideas on what could be done next to make progress on implementing the most promising ideas for reducing the impact of high transport fuel prices. -
Publication
Monitoring Road Works Contracts and Unit Costs for Enhanced Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09)The study is based on a new specialized dataset generated for the road sector contracts of Bank-financed projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is organized as follows: Chapter two describes the data and a set of indicators constructed to perform comparative assessments of the procurement and implementation processes across 13 African countries. Chapter three points out the trends in selected key indicators and performs an inventory of risks for each road works contract using a checklist of possible entry points of corrupt activities or red flags. Through comparison of the road works contracts that had complaints received by the Bank's Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) and other contracts in the sample, it examines if the data exhibit a pattern of indicators consistent with the presence of allegations of corruption or fraud. Chapter four looks at selected issues such as high bid rates, low response to invitation to bid, and cost and time overruns as they were addressed by the project implementing agencies. Finally, chapter five provides selected recommendations to enhance accountability and control of corruption in the road projects financed by the World Bank. -
Publication
Launching Public Private Partnerships for Highways in Transition Economies
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-09)In many countries the private sector has been involved in financing infrastructure through concessions under a public-private partnership (PPP) program. PPP schemes, however, are somewhat underutilized in transition economies, where the potential financing gaps are significant and growing, and there seems to be an enormous potential for more private sector involvement in the financing and operation of highway assets in these countries. Institutions such as the World Bank can contribute to enhance private financing of road infrastructure through greater use of their guarantee power, in addition to supporting, when required, the public sector contribution to the construction cost of a PPP project through loans. Partial risk guarantees are particularly relevant in the context of seeking more private involvement in the financing of road infrastructure. This paper reviews potential applications of partial risk guarantees, the required legal framework (for example, concession law) for attracting private capital for PPP schemes, possible steps for a country to launch a program of private participation in highways, the concept of greenfield and road maintenance concession programs, and the treatment of unsolicited proposals. It also summarizes potential applications of the World Bank Toolkit for PPP in Highways as an instrument to help decision-makers and practitioners to define the best PPP approach for a specific country. -
Publication
Results of Railway Privatization in Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01)This review is designed to assist the development community and policy makers in other countries who may be contemplating railway privatization. The report is principally concerned with the results of privatization rather than the processes or detailed concession structures, which have varied from country to country depending on diverse local circumstances. This report is concerned with the results of the African concessions. The report contains three main sections: (i) A summary of the background to railway development in sub-Saharan Africa to the start of the 1990's, together with a list of the railway privatizations and concessions undertaken over the last 10 years and a brief description of the main concessionaires; (ii) A more detailed presentation of the thirteen concessions, particularly the three which have been operating the longest ; (iii) An assessment of the overall results of railway privatization/concessioning.