Recent Economic Development in Infrastructure
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Publication
The Regional Balkans Infrastructure Study Update: Enhancing Regional Connectivity, Identifying Impediments and Priority Remedies
(Washington, DC, 2015-09-01)In an effort to further develop the South East Europe transport observatory (SEETO) comprehensive network, integrate it in the European Union’s (EU) Trans-European transport (TEN-T) network and strengthen the underlying transport planning systems, a grant was awarded by the Western Balkans infrastructure framework (WBIF) for the update of the regional Balkans infrastructure study (REBIS). The motivation for the update was the fact that since the completion of REBIS in 2003, there had been no review or update of the study’s projections and recommendations that will in turn enable an informed assessment and updating of the regional priorities for investment in the SEETO comprehensive network. The main objective of the REBIS update was to develop a priority action plan for enhancing the efficiency of the SEETO comprehensive network. The action plan identifies priority physical investments as well as non-physical improvements including regulatory, institutional, and managerial changes required to reduce impediments to the efficient performance of the network. The focus of the final report is the assessment of the 2030 traffic projections under low and moderate and moderate and high economic growth scenarios against the capacity of the network under the do-nothing scenario and the full SEETO scenario and on the development of the priority action plan. The report is organized as follows: section one gives introduction .Section two presents a brief assessment of the 2003 REBIS traffic projections against reported counts. Section three presents key non-physical impediments to transport and trade facilitation, as well as the costs and benefits associated with their alleviation. Section four presents the 2030 traffic projections for both the low and moderate and moderate and high economic growth scenarios. Section five presents the results of the capacity assessment of the existing and planned networks to handle the projected traffic. Section six presents the methodology used in the preliminary economic efficiency analysis for assessing the physical interventions and the results, while section seven presents the priority action plan. Section eight provides concluding comments. -
Publication
Senegal's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made a contribution of 1 percentage point to Senegal's improved per capita growth performance, placing it in the middle of the distribution among West African countries during the period. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries (MICs) could boost annual growth by about 2.7 percentage points. Senegal has made significant progress in some areas of its infrastructure. In the transport sector, road standards are adequate and their quality average. Senegal has also strengthened the road institutional framework with the creation of the Second Generation Road Fund (FERA) and the Road Maintenance Executing Agency. It has also managed to have a toll road concession granted for the Dakar-Diamniadio Toll Highway. The tariffs in the railway sector are internationally competitive, and there has been improvement in the financial viability of ports. After Nigeria, the country stands as an emerging hub and a major player in air transport. Also, Senegal has managed to introduce private participation in electricity generation, and the unbundling of the electricity sector is under way even as the country actively participates in the regional power market. The country is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in improved water. In the information and communication technology (ICT) sector there has been an impressive expansion of the mobile and Internet markets. Senegal already spends around $911 million per year on infrastructure, equivalent to about 11 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). Almost $312 million a year is lost to inefficiencies of various kinds, associated mainly with under-pricing in the power and water sectors, poor financial management of utilities, and inefficient allocation of resources across sectors. If Senegal could raise tariffs to cost-recovery levels and reduce operational inefficiencies in line with reasonable developing-country benchmarks, it could substantially boost its infrastructure sector. -
Publication
Benin's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made an important contribution of 1.6 percentage point to Benin's improved per capita growth performance, which was the highest among West African countries during the period. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.2 percentage points. Benin has made significant progress in some areas of its infrastructure. The rural road network is in relatively good condition, and about 30 percent of the rural population has access to an all-season road, a level above the country's peers. Air transport connectivity has improved. Also, important market liberalization reforms designed to attract private capital to the water and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors have boosted performance. In particular, increased competition in the ICT market has contributed to the rapid expansion of mobile and Internet services. Addressing Benin's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditures of $712 million per year over the next decade, with heavy emphasis on capital expenditure. Almost half of the total relates to the transport sector. At 16.6 percent of Benin's 2005 gross domestic product (GDP), this effort is almost at the level of other Sub-Saharan African countries. Benin already spends around $452 million per year on infrastructure, equivalent to about 10.5 percent of its GDP. Almost $101 million a year is lost to inefficiencies of various kinds, associated mainly with under pricing in the power and water sectors; poor financial management of utilities; and inefficient allocation of resources across sectors. If Benin could raise tariffs to cost-recovery levels, and reduce operational inefficiencies in line with reasonable developing-country benchmarks, it could substantially boost flows to the infrastructure sectors. Comparing spending needs with existing spending and potential efficiency gains (and assuming that the inefficiencies are fully captured) leaves an annual funding gap of $210 million per year. By far the largest share of the gap can be traced to the water supply and sanitation sectors. Benin has the potential to close this gap by adopting alternative technologies in water supply, transport and power. Savings from alternative technologies could amount to as much as $227 million per year. -
Publication
Mozambique's Infrastructue: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)This study is a product of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed to expand the world's knowledge of physical infrastructure in Africa. The AICD provides a baseline against which future improvements in infrastructure services can be measured, making it possible to monitor the results achieved from donor support. It also offers a solid empirical foundation for prioritizing investments and designing policy reforms in Africa's infrastructure sectors. The AICD is based on an unprecedented effort to collect detailed economic and technical data on African infrastructure. The project has produced a series of original reports on public expenditure, spending needs, and sector performance in each of the main infrastructure sectors, including energy, information and communication technologies, irrigation, transport, and water and sanitation. This report presents the key AICD findings for Mozambique, allowing the country's infrastructure situation to be benchmarked against that of its African peers. Given that Mozambique is poor but stable country, two sets of African benchmarks will be used to evaluate its situation: those for non fragile Low Income Countries (LICs) and those for Middle-Income Countries (MICs). Detailed comparisons will also be made with immediate regional neighbors in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). -
Publication
Mali Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)In recent years Mali's economy has grown steadily at a rate of more than 5 percent per year, driven by developments in gold mining, cereal harvests, and telecommunications. Mali's landlocked condition, together with its very uneven distribution of both population and economic activities between the arid north and the much richer south, challenge the country's ability to sustain this pace of growth. These two aspects define and challenge Mali's development and the infrastructure agendas. The country's strategic focus on the regional agenda has paid off to date, and critical institutional decisions are bringing many positive developments. More than 80 percent of Mali's segments of the West Africa road corridors are maintained in good or fair condition, giving the principal production areas of the south alternative access to the deep-water ports of Dakar, Adidjan, Takoradi, Tema, and Lome. Air transport security has improved, supported by the refurbishment of local airports, including Bamako airport, and the restructuring of Mali's Civil Aviation Authority to increase its autonomy and guarantee harmonization of air transportation rules across West Africa. Mali has also successfully liberalized its mobile telephone markets, with access approaching 40 percent in 2008. Roaming agreements and cross country competition have kept mobile prices low. Access to electricity in Mali more than doubled in the last decade, helped by the introduction of an apparently successful program for rural electrification (AMADER) that widened access to more than 36,000 rural households. -
Publication
Cameroon's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)Better access to improved infrastructure services is an important engine for economic growth. The poor state of infrastructure is a key bottleneck to growth in African countries, and Cameroon is no exception. Between 2000 and 2005, improvements in information and communication technologies boosted Cameroon's growth performance by 1.26 percentage points per capita, while deficient power infrastructure held growth back by 0.28 percentage points. If Cameroon could improve its infrastructure to the level of the middle-income countries of Africa, the growth effect could be on the order of 3.3 percentage points. Cameroon has made significant progress in many aspects of infrastructure. Across a broad range of sectors, the country has made serious efforts to implement institutional reforms with a view to attracting private sector investment. Private sector concessions have been awarded for the Port of Douala, the CAMRAIL railway, the national power utility, and the national water utility (CDE). These arrangements have generally led to performance improvements and attracted significant volumes of finance. Power supply remains expensive and unreliable. Cameroon needs to accelerate the development of some of its prime hydropower sites, which would greatly improve the domestic power situation and potentially allow Cameroon to play its natural role as hydropower exporter to the Central African Power Pool. Cameroon's information and communication technology (ICT) reform remains frozen at an early stage. The telecom incumbent, CAMTEL, remains state-owned and receives substantial public subsidy. The mobile sector is relatively uncompetitive, operating as a duopoly. Moreover, while Cameroon enjoys access to a submarine cable, CAMTEL's monopoly control over the international gateway has prevented consumers from benefiting. -
Publication
Sudan Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)Improvements in infrastructure in all parts of Sudan in recent years have had a strong impact on per capita growth, contributing 1.7 percentage points. Consistent with trends in other countries, the information and communication (ICT) revolution that swept Africa contributed the most to Sudan. Raising the infrastructure endowment of all parts of Sudan to that of the region's best performer, Mauritius, could boosts annual growth by about 3.5 percentage points. Sudan has invested heavily in infrastructure in recent years, with some notable achievements. Power generation capacity tripled in just a few years, rising from around 800 megawatts (MW) in 2005 to 2,687MW in 2007, with a shift toward hydropower. Nevertheless, service reliability remains an issue. In ICT, Sudan has made enormous strides in liberalizing the sector and as a result has attracted significant private capital. Mobile penetration soared from less than 1 percent in 2000 to 33 percent in 2009. Recent connectivity to an undersea fiber-optic cable has led to expansions in access, improvements in quality, and reduction in prices. Looking ahead, Sudan's most pressing infrastructure challenges lie in the water and transport sectors. Sudan's infrastructure development has so far had a national focus, and there is much that remains to be done to achieve greater regional integration. While internal road corridors are developed, connectivity with neighbors is largely absent. Sudan has a natural gateway to the sea through Port Sudan but the port's performance is severely hindered by long dwell times, high costs, and capacity constraints. Looking further ahead, Sudan has the potential to be a major hydropower exporter if additional capacity could be developed and transmission links with neighboring Nile Basin countries strengthened. -
Publication
South Sudan's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-06)This study is a product of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed to expand the world's knowledge of physical infrastructure in Africa. AICD provides a baseline against which future improvements in infrastructure services can be measured, making it possible to monitor the results achieved from donor support. It also offers a solid empirical foundation for prioritizing investments and designing policy reforms in Africa's infrastructure sectors. The AICD is based on an unprecedented effort to collect detailed economic and technical data on African infrastructure. The project has produced a series of original reports on public expenditure, spending needs, and sector performance in each of the main infrastructure sectors, including energy, information and communication technologies, irrigation, transport, and water and sanitation. This report presents the key AICD findings for South Sudan, allowing the country's infrastructure situation to be benchmarked against that of its African peers. South Sudan is a newly independent country, affected by conflict, endowed with oil, but poor in terms of infrastructure and economic development. Because of these factors, both low-income, fragile states and resource-rich benchmarks will be used to evaluate its performance. Detailed comparisons will also be made with immediate regional neighbors in the East African Community (EAC). -
Publication
Burkina Faso's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-05)Infrastructure contributed 1.3 percentage points to Burkina Faso's annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past decade, much of it due to improvements in information and communication technology (ICT). Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries (MICs) could boost annual growth by more than 3 percentage points per capita.Today, Burkina Faso's infrastructure indicators look relatively good when compared with other low-income countries (LICs) in Africa. Burkina Faso has made significant progress in developing its infrastructure in recent years. The rapid modernization of the ICT sector, around 60 percent of the population lives within range of a global system for mobile communications (GSM) cell-phone signal. The expansion of safe water and sanitation technologies in urban areas since the late 1990s and the establishment of a system for funding road maintenance (by reducing the cost of road travel) should pay long-term dividends to the economy. The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) has gathered and analyzed extensive data on infrastructure across almost all African countries, including Burkina Faso. The results have been presented in reports covering different areas of infrastructure including ICT, irrigation, power, transport and water and sanitation and various policy areas, including investment needs, fiscal costs, and sector performance. -
Publication
The Central African Republic's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-05)Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made a modest net contribution of less than one percentage point to the improved per capita growth performance of the Central African Republic (CAR), despite high expenses in the road sector. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.5 percentage points. Assuming that the inefficiencies are fully captured, comparing spending needs against existing spending and potential efficiency gains leaves an annual funding gap of $183 million per year. By far the largest gap exists in transport. The CAR has the potential to close this gap by raising additional public funding for infrastructure from increased fiscal receipts of various kinds. Furthermore, the CAR has not captured as much private finance for infrastructure (measured as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP) as many of its neighbors. This scope for improvement, coupled with the prospect of an economic rebound and prudent policies, could lift the country from it fragile state back to and beyond the prosperity standards it once enjoyed.