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The World Bank’s Transport Strategy – Economic and Social Development?
2008-04-08
The World Bank Group is the leading international institution influencing change in transport infrastructure and services in developing countries over the past two decades. Now the World Bank is about to publish its transport strategy for the next decade, at a time when climate change and the Millennium Development Goals are at the top of the development agenda.
How will it reconcile those imperatives with a policy approach that has put economic growth at the heart of its poverty reduction strategy and international trade at the heart of its growth strategy? A special event will explore these issues in London, UK on Thursday May 22.
Between 1995 and 2005, the two main agencies of the World Bank - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) - provided loans totalling more than $30 billion for transport projects in middle income and low income countries.
This makes transport the largest single industrial recipient of World Bank finance, and to this can be added the contribution of the International Finance Corporation - the banks private sector lending agency. Since 1990, the IFC has invested in transport projects with a capital value of around £15 billion, and since 1998 the transport sector has been a declared priority.
At this one off event, organised by Public World in conjunction with the Bretton Woods Project, the World Bank's recently appointed transport sector chief, Marc Juhel, will present the new strategy, followed by comments from Marinke van Riet (IFRTD) and Brendan Martin (Public World), the floor will then be open to members of the public.
Admission is free but please register by email to admin[at]publicworld.org, or by visiting www.publicworld.org.
