Liberia's Infrastructure : A Continental Perspective

Liberia's power generating capacity and national grid were completely demolished during 14 years of civil war. Piped water access fell from 15 percent of the population in 1986 to less than 3 percent in 2008. War also left the national road network in a state of severe disrepair. Since the return of peace, the port of Monrovia has resumed normal operations under private management, and progress has been made in securing donor finance for road reconstruction. Liberia has also successfully liberalized its mobile telephone markets, with low-priced access surging to 40 percent in 2009. Liberia's starkest challenge lies in funding a more cost-effective power sector. The country's generation capacity is barely one-tenth of the benchmark level of Africa's other low-income countries. The cost of generating power is exorbitant, and the power tariff is three times the regional average. Addressing Liberia's public infrastructure needs will require sustained expenditures of between $350 million and $600 million annually, mostly to fund power and transport. In the mid-2000s, with all sources of spending taken into account, Liberia spent around $90 million a year on infrastructure. An additional $17 million was lost to inefficiencies, such as underpricing of power. Because Liberia suffers an annual funding gap of between $250 million and $500 million per year, it will need a combination of increased finance, improved efficiency, and cost-reducing innovations to reach its infrastructure targets in a reasonable time. Without these, Liberians may have to wait for up to 40 years to achieve the targets.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Foster, Vivien, Pushak, Nataliya
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	2011-03-01
Subjects:	ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY, ACCESS TO SERVICES, ACCESSIBILITY, ADSL, AIR, AIR SAFETY, AIR TRAFFIC, AIR TRANSPORT, AIRCRAFT, AIRWAYS, APPROACH, ARTERY, AVAILABILITY, BACK-UP, BACKBONE, BACKBONES, BALANCE, BANDWIDTH, BARRIERS TO ENTRY, BEST PRACTICE, BIOMASS, BIOMASS GENERATION, BOTTLENECKS, BRIDGE, BROADBAND, BUDGET EXECUTION, CABLE, CAPITAL COSTS, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, CARGO, CARGO HANDLING, CARGO HANDLING CHARGE, CARGO HANDLING OPERATIONS, COMMODITY, COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY, CONCESSION, CONCESSION ARRANGEMENTS, CONCESSIONAIRES, CONCESSIONS, CONNECTIVITY, COST RECOVERY, COSTS OF POWER, CUSTOMS, DEFICITS, DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY, DEMAND FOR POWER, DIESEL, DISTRIBUTION ASSETS, DISTRIBUTION LOSSES, DISTRIBUTION NETWORK, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIES OF SCALE, ELECTRIFICATION, EMPLOYMENT, END-USER, ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE, ENTERPRISE SURVEYS, FINANCIAL BURDEN, FINANCIAL FLOWS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, FUEL, FUEL OIL, GAS, GENERATION, GENERATION CAPACITY, GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY, GENERATORS, GLOBAL STANDARDS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROWTH RATES, GROWTH STRATEGY, HEAVY FUEL OIL, HOUSEHOLD ACCESS, HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HYDROPOWER, INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESS, INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS, INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING, INNOVATIONS, INSTALLATION, INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS, INVESTMENT TARGETS, ISPS, KILOWATT-HOUR, KILOWATT-HOURS, LANDLORD PORTS, LEVIES, MAINTENANCE EXPENDITURES, MARKET CONCENTRATION, MARKET SHARE, MATERIAL, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, MOBILE PHONE, MOBILE TELEPHONE, MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES, MUNICIPALITIES, NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, NATIONAL TRANSPORT, NATURAL RESOURCE, NATURAL RESOURCES, NETWORK TRAFFIC, O&M, OPEN ACCESS, OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY, PENETRATION RATES, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, POPULATION DENSITY, PORT ACCESS, PORT AUTHORITY, PORT CHARGES, PORTS, POST-CONFLICT, POWER, POWER CONSUMPTION, POWER COSTS, POWER DEMAND, POWER GENERATING CAPACITY, POWER GENERATION, POWER GENERATION CAPACITY, POWER GRID, POWER SECTOR, POWER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, POWER TRADE, PRICE OF POWER, PRICE OF WATER, PRIVATE INVESTMENT, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCTIVITY, PUBLIC, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC INVESTMENT, PUBLIC NETWORKS, PUBLIC PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION, PUBLIC WORKS, RADIO, RAIL, RAIL SERVICE, RAILWAY, RAILWAY LINE, RAILWAYS, REGIONAL NETWORK, REGIONAL NETWORKS, REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, RESULT, RESULTS, REVENUE COLLECTION, ROAD, ROAD MAINTENANCE, ROAD NETWORK, ROAD SECTOR, ROAD TRAFFIC, ROAD USER, ROAD USER CHARGES, ROAD USER CHARGING, ROADS, ROUTE, ROUTES, RURAL ACCESS, RURAL ROADS, SANITATION, SANITATION INFRASTRUCTURE, SANITATION SECTOR, SANITATION UTILITIES, SAVINGS, SEAT CAPACITY, SERVICE PROVIDERS, SITES, SURFACE ACCESS, TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS, TELECOM, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM, TELEPHONE NETWORK, TELEPHONE PENETRATION, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC FLOW, TRAFFIC FLOWS, TRAFFIC GROWTH, TRAFFIC LEVELS, TRAFFIC VOLUMES, TRANSMISSION, TRANSMISSION GRID, TRANSMISSION LINE, TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT INDICATORS, TRANSPORT INDUSTRY, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT INVESTMENTS, TRANSPORT MARKET, TRANSPORT NETWORK, TRANSPORT POLICY, TRANSPORT SECTOR, TRANSPORT STRATEGY, TRUCK PROCESSING, TRUE, TURNAROUND TIME, UNIVERSAL ACCESS, URBAN GROWTH, URBAN ROAD, URBAN ROADS, URBAN TRANSPORT, USERS, UTILITIES, UTILITY BILL, UTILITY BILLS, VEHICLES, VSAT, WATER CONSUMPTION, WATER SERVICE, WATER SERVICES, WATER TARIFFS, WATER UTILITIES, WEB, WEB SITE, WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110317133819 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3362
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