Publication: Colombia - Recent Economic Developments in Infrastructure : Balancing Social and Productive Needs for Infrastructure, Volume 2. Main Report
Date
2004-11-01
ISSN
Published
2004-11-01
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to provide
an integral evaluation of recent economic developments in
Colombia's infrastructure sectors. Specifically, the
study covers the electricity, natural gas,
telecommunications, water, and transport sectors. Colombia
presents high levels of access to basic household services
compared to its Latin American peers, while access to
services in the country is relatively equitable across the
income spectrum, but relatively inequitable between urban
and rural areas. However, Colombia lags behind its peers as
regards paved roads, internet access, and electricity
generation capacity. Energy use is strongly driven by the
underlying structure of the economy, and paved road density
is driven by the internal spatial distribution of economic
activity. Moreover, there is mixed evidence as to the
relative quality, and efficiency of Colombia's
infrastructure service providers. The report stipulates
Colombia needs to enhance its performance on productive
infrastructure, while preserving its achievements in the
social sphere. On the basis of this comparative assessment,
the challenge for Colombia would appear to lie primarily in
reorienting its infrastructure investments towards the
productive sectors, without jeopardizing its strong
performance in social infrastructure. While the private
sector can play an important role in addressing the deficits
in energy and telecommunications, the key challenge of
financing improvements in the road network will necessarily
remain a predominantly public responsibility, given that the
limited scope for toll roads has already been largely exploited.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2004. Colombia - Recent Economic Developments in Infrastructure : Balancing Social and Productive Needs for Infrastructure, Volume 2. Main Report. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14512 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”