WORLD BANK AT IRF “We will guarantee road privatization”

WORLD BANK AT IRF

“We will guarantee road privatization”

A World Bank rep Cesar Queiroz told an Internat Road Federatn/Russian Govt seminar in Moscow 2-3 Oct that the Bank is ready to provide financial guarantees to private sector consortia that wish to develop tolled motorway concessions in emerging economies.

In what the IRF describes as a “departure from previous Bank policy,” Cesar Queiroz told the 70 Russian and international participants that the Bank will stand behind national banks as a guarantor when they agree to provide the financing for road schemes. Queiroz was one of fifteen international and Russian speakers at the seminar called Pavement Rehabilitation on Extended Road Networks: Management, Financing and Techniques. The seminar was organised by the IRF at the request of the Government of Russia in its attempts to tackle the huge road problems facing the country. It was attended by senior road administration officials from almost all Russian republics, invited international experts in roadbuilding and financing, and IRF members.

Russian road problems are severe because the former communist regime neglected roads for ineffectual expenditures on rail. With the liberation of the Russian economy road traffic is increasing by double digit annual rates. Last year vehicle miles travelled increased 27% the conference was told. 40% of the federal roads need pavement strengthening,19% need rehabilitation and 11% need immediate widening. The condition of local roads is even worse and most are unpaved. There is also a lack of technical knowledge and little funds to make much needed repairs. The 2-day IRF Seminar focused on: road rehabilitation planning and contracting, case studies of examples in the West, how to budget for road rehabilitation and maintenance, and the case for toll systems for road rehabilitation, how to design concession contracts.

The IRF is a strong supporter of toll roads. “This first seminar was designed to be the first in a series of multi-annual events of this type,” said IRF Director-Gen, Wim Westerhuis at the event’s conclusion. “We received positive feedback from both the Russians and those attending from the West. And the IRF members present felt that the event offered good networking value because it allowed them to meet senior Russian Republic road officials in a small gathering.”

“The main goal was for the IRF to respond to the Russian Government’s requests for assistance in dealing with the urgent road management and financing issues facing the country. Given the questions and discussions over the two days, it’s clear that the Russians are open to examining all sorts of innovative solutions, including the privatisation of road operations, as well as toll systems.” (Contact: Sandra Woods IRF Geneva 41 22 731 7150 http://web.eunet.ch/irf)