Publication: Expanding Water and Sanitation Services to Low-Income Households : the Case of the La Paz-El Alto Concession
Date
1999-04
ISSN
Published
1999-04
Author(s)
Komives, Kristin
Brook Cowen, Penelope J.
Abstract
Bolivia is one of a growing number of
developing countries turning to the private sector to
improve urban water and sanitation services. The
country's first major contract in the sector, a
twenty-five-year concession for the neighboring cities of La
Paz and El Alto, was implemented in August 1997. A primary
objective in moving to a private concession was to expand
services to low-income households while holding down costs
by increasing efficiency. It is not a foregone conclusion
that the new concessionaire will do a better job of
expanding service; much will depend on how well the contract
and sector regulation have been designed. Because the La
Paz-El Alto concession was explicitly designed to expand
service to the poor, this concession is a good case study
for evaluating how different provisions in the contract and
the sector regulation may help or hinder service expansion.
Citation
“Komives, Kristin; Brook Cowen, Penelope J.. 1999. Expanding Water and Sanitation Services to Low-Income Households : the Case of the La Paz-El Alto Concession. Viewpoint: Public Policy for the Private Sector; Note No. 178. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/f99a2862-fbfa-5fd3-b1c4-52f70ed61b14 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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