China - Zhejiang Qiantang River Basin Small Town Environmental Project
The World Bank recently released the concept paper for a large environmental and water-related loan to China. If approved by the Board of Directors, the project would provide about $207 million in World Bank financing for infrastructure investments, including wastewater treatment, solid waste, and water supply. The wastewater component alone will encompass seven facilities and 300km of additional piping. Click here to read the concept paper.
Multimodal Transport Project for the Democratic Republic of Congo
The World Bank has begun preliminary appraisal work on a massive Multimodal Transport Project for the Democratic Republic of Congo. If approved by the Board of Directors, the project would revive the DRCs three backbone multimodal trade and transport corridors by restructuring state-owned enterprises and engaging private sector operators through public-private partnerships. Phase one will include about $180 million of investment in the southern/eastern railway operator, which is virtually bankrupt and whose continuing operations are at risk. The project's concept note can be viewed here.
Botswana Morupule B Generation and Transmission Project
The World Bank has approved a large new power plant project for Botswana. The project includes a new 600MW coal-fired power station, 317 km of 400kV transmission lines, and a pipeline from the new Paje well field to the Morupule B Power Station (80 km) for backup supply. The project also includes examination of options including coal-bed methane, solar thermal, carbon capture and storage, as well as institution and capacity building for BPC and the Ministry of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources (MMEWR). Additional details about the project may be found here.
Electricity Transmission Project in Khazakstan
The World Bank Board of Directors has approved a US$48 million loan for the Kazakhstan Moinak Electricity Transmission Project, which will help to increase and improve the supply of electricity to households and business enterprises in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner in southern regions of Kazakhstan. The project will increase the capacity of the power transmission network to allow the transmission of clean electricity that is to be generated by the 300 megawatt Moinak Hydroelectric Power Plant (MHPP) currently under construction. The first component of the project is construction of transmission lines. The second component of the project is modernization of substations. The third component of the project is for consulting and technical services.
Rwanda Electricity Access Scale-Up Development Project
October 15, 2009 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $70 million for the Electricity Access Scale-up and Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) Development Project in Rwanda, which aims to improve access to reliable and cost-effective electricity services for households and priority public institutions. The project has three components. (1) National Grid rollout component. The project investments will be targeting areas identified in the National Electricity Access Program (NEAP) access prospectus to be suitable for grid connection following a least cost prioritization model. The investments will initially focus on urban areas where theres a large potential to connect poorer households at relatively lower cost per connection. The project will also support the initial NEAP investments in green-field areas close to the existing grid. The investment program has been divided in the following subcomponents: (a) Grid intensification in Urban and Peri-Urban areas; (b) Electrification of new districts and sectors including MV extensions and LV reticulation; (c) Backbone MV/HV grid strengthening, improved operational capacity and service network expansion. (2) Green connections component. The project will finance a range of activities to improve affordability for the consumers and reduce the need for additional generation resources. (3) Technical assistance, capacity strengthening, and implementation support component will finance technical assistance and capacity building to ensure adequate management of the NEAP and SWAP.
Republic of Georgia Road Project
September 10, 2009 The World Bank has approved a $147 million road improvement project for the Republic of Georgia. The Third East-West Highway Improvement Project aims to (i) contribute to the gradual reduction of road transport costs and improve access, ease of transit, and road safety along the central part of the Borrowers East-West corridor; and (ii) strengthen the capacity of the Roads Department and relevant government entities to plan and manage the road network and to improve road safety.
Senegal and Mali Felou Hydroelectric Project
August 27, 2009 The World Bank has approved an $84 million credit to augment the supply of low cost hydroelectricity from the OMVS Power System to the national power utilities of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The Felou Hydroelectric Project will include a 60MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant under a design-build contract and a two-stage "project cycle management contract."
eIndia 2009 in Hyderabad, India
eIndia 2009 - India's largest ICT event served as a forum for information and knowledge sharing across different ICT disciplines and between government, private sector and non-profits. The event included practitioners and specialists in the use of ICT for economic development. Sponsors included Microsoft, IBM, Infosys, and a host of others. Key speakers included Oleg Petrov, Coordinator for the e-Development Thematic group at the World Bank.
Colombia Solid Waste Management Program
August 4, 2009 The World Bank has approved a $20 million loan to Colombia to improve the quality and coverage of solid waste management services.
Bangladesh Renewable Energy Project
August 4, 2009 Bangladesh will receive a loan of $130 million to increase electricity supply in rural areas, including additional financing for the very successful Solar Home Systems program and to improve energy efficiency by introducing Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs).
Uzbekistan Water and Sewer Project
The Bukhara and Samarkand Sewerage Project for Uzbekistan will help mitigate the environmental impact from wastewater pollution, and improve the efficiency and sustainability of wastewater management in Bukhara and Samarkand. There are four components to the project, including infrastructure, capacity building, feasibility studies, and project management.
Nigeria Financial Sector Policy Credit
The World Bank has approved a $500 million credit to Nigeria that aims to: (i) maintain confidence and stability in the financial system; (ii) strengthen the banking system; and (iii) support the objectives of the 2009 budget focused on raising Government investment spending to accelerate non-oil growth. Additional information is available here.
Serbian Road Project
The World Bank recently approved The Corridor X Highway Project for Serbia, which aims to increase transport efficiency and improve traffic safety on the three project sections of Corridor X, between Nis and Dimitrovgrad and Leskovac and Donji Neradovac respectively, and to improve road management and road safety in Serbia. Click here for more details.
World Bank Launches Climate Change Beta Site
July 20, 2009—Visitors to the World Bank’s website used to have to scan more than 20 sites and hundreds of pages to get a complete picture of the Bank’s role in climate change. That all changed with the launch of a new climate change beta website—a harbinger of things to come for www.worldbank.org.
Romania Receives $423 million Development Policy Loan
July 16, 2009 The World Bank announced a $423 million loan to the government of Romania to support the implementation of the government's program to strengthen public expenditure management, to cushion the impact of the crisis on the poor and vulnerable, and to minimize risks of a domestic financial sector crisis by addressing current and potential vulnerabilities. For more information, click here.
Brazil Water Management Loan Approved by World Bank
July 9, 2009 The World Bank approved a $130 million loan to Sao Paulo, Brazil for a project to protect and maintain the quality and reliability of Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo's (MRSPs) water resources and potable water sources; to improve the quality of life of the poor populations residing in key targeted urban river basins in MRSP; and to strengthen institutional capacity and improve metropolitan management and coordination in MRSP in water resources management, water pollution control, land-use policy and basic service provision. Click here to see the Project Appraisal Document, which includes contract opportunities for consultants and engineers.
Donors Commit Funds to Promote Trade in Developing Countries
The World Bank and other donors have formally committed funds to a $50 billion Global Trade Liquidity Program to help reverse the decline in trade resulting from the economic crisis. The funds will be disbursed through the first four participating banks and a network of 500 banks in 70 developing countries. Click here to learn more.
Boosting Infrastructure Development in Developing Countries
July 9, 2009 The European Commission, the World Bank, and many of their development partners have begun two days of meetings in Brussels to increase their coordination of, and their support to, critical infrastructure initiatives in developing countries hard hit by the global economic downturn. Representatives from multilateral development banks, the European Investment Bank, bilateral development agencies, and development financing organizations have gathered to draw attention to the financing gaps that face many developing countries as they seek to protect existing infrastructure and plan new infrastructure projects or programs to create jobs and boost their economies. The meetings are taking place under the umbrella of INFRA, the Infrastructure Recovery and Assets platform launched by the World Bank, and now including many other development partners. Click here to see the rest of the story.
Thailand: Concept Paper for Small Scale Livestock Waste Management Program
This paper describes a proposed project to reduce methane emissions through a carbon finance transaction and will serve as a demonstration for future CDM activities in Thailand. The project will use digester technology from Chiang Mai University to produce biogas for electicity generation, cooking, and heating at participating farms. Click here to see read the entire paper, which is a good illustration of World Bank carbon finance activities.
World Bank Corruption Probe Leads to Siemens Acknowledgement of Misconduct
The World Bank Group today announced a comprehensive settlement with Siemens AG in the wake of the company’s acknowledged past misconduct in its global business and a World Bank investigation into corruption in a project in Russia involving a Siemens subsidiary. The settlement includes a commitment by Siemens to pay $100 million over the next 15 years to support anti-corruption work, an agreement of up to a four-year debarment for Siemens’ Russian subsidiary, and a voluntary two-year shut-out from bidding on Bank business for Siemens AG and all of its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates. Click here to see the full article.
Peru Water Resources Management Modernization Project
The Water Resources Management Modernization Project for Peru aims to improve the management of water resources by strengthening the country's capacity for participatory, integrated, basin-scale Water Resources Management (WRM) at the central level and in selected river basins. The project will be led by the country's national authorities on water, Autoridad Nacional del Agua (ANA), the main entity of Peru's National Water Resources System and its local offices. The Procurement Plan, including several consulting oppportunities, is shown on page 89 of the Project Appraisal Document.
India Chiller Energy Efficiency Project
The overall global environment objective of the Chiller Energy Efficiency project in India is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously supporting the phase-out of consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances required under the Montreal Protocol. The project will accelerate the replacement of centrifugal chillers with efficient non-CFC-based centrihgal chillers in order to promote deployment of energy efficient technologies and products to reduce GHG emissions, and support the phase-out of CFC demand in India. Click here to see the project documentation.
India Coal-fired Power Plant Rehabilitation
The Government of India has sought the World Bank's assistance to pilot the renovation and modernization of four coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 640 MW. The $225.5 million World Bank-Global Environment Facility assisted Coal-fired Generation Rehabilitation Project will rehabilitate and modernize around 200-220 MW of capacity at each of the three coal-fired power plants at Bandel in West Bengal, Koradi in Maharashtra and Panipat in Haryana. Click here for details.
Poland Employment and Entrepreneurship
The World Bank has approved a €1 billion loan to Poland that will support reforms to public financial management, and improvements of labor market efficiency, as well as structural improvements to the finance and provision of health, education and social protection. Click here for more information.
Tunisia Energy Efficiency Project
The World Bank has approved an $8.5 million energy efficiency project for Tunisia that will help overcome barriers to the development of a sustainable market for energy efficiency products. In addition to the removal of institutional and capacity-related barriers, the project aims to establish energy services companies (ESCOs) as the main vehicle to guarantee a sustainable energy efficiency market. Click here for additional information.
High Speed Internet is Key to Job Creation
A new report from the World Bank Group finds that access to affordable, high quality internet and mobile phone services enables development across all levels of the economy and society. Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact takes an in-depth look at how ICT impacts economic growth in developing countries. Click here to see the full report.
Doing Business in India
If you wanted to start a business in India, what city would you pick? The just-released report Doing Business in India has an answer: Ludhiana. Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar would also be good choices. Why? These were ranked as the top three cities in India (out of 17 included in the ranking) in the overall ease of doing business.
Adapting to Climate Change in Europe and Central Asia
This new report presents an overview of what adaptation to climate change might mean for Europe and Central Asia. It starts with a discussion of emerging best practice adaptation planning around the world and a review of the latest climate projections. To view the report, click here.
Irrigation Development Project
The World Bank recently approved the $70 million Participatory Irrigation Development Project for the Philippines. This project supports the first phase of an Adaptable Program Loan to improve delivery of irrigation services on a sustainable basis to increase agricultural production and productivity. For additional information, click here.