The Republic of Congo's Infrastructure

Upgrading infrastructure plays a critical role in the Republic of Congo's quest to diversify its economy and reduce poverty. It is also an important source of growth on its own. A cross-country statistical analysis conducted for this report shows that infrastructure contributed one-half of one percentage point to the Republic of Congo's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth annually from 2001 to 2006. However, if the country's infrastructure could be improved to the level seen in Mauritius, the leading country in Sub-Saharan Africa, it could contribute more than 3 percentage points to annual per capita growth. The Republic of Congo's power infrastructure is inadequate and inefficiently operated. The country lags well behind peer countries in generation capacity and electrification. The parts of the population not served by the grid face exorbitant costs. The government has responded to these issues with an ambitious investment plan. However, if new assets are to operate effectively, major inefficiencies in the power utility will also need to be addressed. The utility's transmission and distribution losses are 47 percent, more than double best-practice benchmarks, while the cost of overstaffing is 30 percent of utility revenue. Tariffs recover barely half the cost of service provision, even though full cost recovery will be affordable to the population. In the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, the Republic of Congo has made good progress in developing its mobile telephony market in recent years, with high levels of signal coverage. The cost of international connectivity is currently high, but it should fall once the country connects to the international submarine cable and completes its domestic fiber optic network. On the other hand, the physically dilapidated and financially depleted condition of the fixed-line telephone operator is becoming a constraint to raising Internet penetration. The Republic of Congo performs relatively well on service coverage in the water and sanitation sector. The country's access statistics are substantially ahead of those in its peer group, particularly with regard to piped water, stand-posts, and improved latrines. However, access to services is much greater in urban areas than in rural areas. Furthermore, under-pricing of water has hurt the financial soundness of the water utility, even though analysis suggests that cost recovery tariffs would be affordable to consumers.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Pushak, Nataliya, Briceño-Garmendia, Cecilia M.
Format:	Report biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2011-03
Subjects:	ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY, ACCESS TO GRID ELECTRICITY, ACCESSIBILITY, ACCOUNTING, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, AIR, AIR MARKET, AIR TRANSPORT, AIRCRAFT, AIRPORTS, APPROACH, ARTERY, AUTONOMY, AVAILABILITY, AVIATION SECTOR, BALANCE, BANDWIDTH, BORDER CROSSINGS, BORDER TRANSMISSION, BOTTLENECKS, BRIDGE, BUDGET EXECUTION, CABLE, CABLE NETWORK, CABLE SYSTEM, CAPITAL BUDGETS, CAPITAL COSTS, CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, CAPITAL INVESTMENT, CAPITAL NEEDS, CAPITALS, CARGO, CARS, CHEAPER POWER, COLLECTION OF BILLS, CONCESSION, CONCESSIONAIRES, CONCESSIONS, CORRIDOR INVESTMENT, COST OF SERVICE, COST RECOVERY, COSTS OF POWER, COUNTRY COMPARISONS, DEBT, DEFICITS, DIESEL, DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER, DISTRIBUTION LOSSES, DISTRIBUTION NETWORK, DRAINAGE, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE, EFFECTIVE PRICE, ELECTRICITY, ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, ELECTRICITY TARIFFS, ELECTRIFICATION, EXPANSION OF GENERATION CAPACITY, FEEDER ROADS, FINANCIAL DATA, FREIGHT, FREIGHT COSTS, FUEL, GAS, GENERATING CAPACITY, GENERATION, GENERATION CAPACITY, GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY, GOVERNMENT BUDGET, GOVERNMENT PLANS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROWTH RATES, HIGHWAY, HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, HYDROPOWER, INCUMBENT OPERATOR, INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS, INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS, INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING, INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE REHABILITATION, INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR, INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING, INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS, INTERNATIONAL GATEWAYS, INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, INVENTORY, INVESTMENT CLIMATE, INVESTMENT IN ROADS, INVESTMENT PROGRAM, JOINT VENTURE, KILOWATT HOUR, KILOWATT-HOUR, LEGISLATION, LICENSES, LOCOMOTIVE, LOGISTICS SERVICES, LOWER PRICES, MAINTENANCE COSTS, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, MODE OF TRANSPORT, MONTHLY WATER BILL, NATIONAL TRANSPORT, O&M, OIL, OIL PRICE, OPERATING COSTS, PASSENGER SERVICES, PORT AUTHORITY, PORT FACILITIES, POWER, POWER CONSUMPTION, POWER DEMAND, POWER GENERATION, POWER GENERATION CAPACITY, POWER GRID, POWER NETWORK, POWER PLANT, POWER SECTOR, POWER STATION, POWER TRADE, PRICE OF POWER, PRIVATE OPERATORS, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT, PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT, PRODUCTIVITY, PUBLIC, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC FUNDING, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC INVESTMENTS, PUBLIC PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SERVICE, PUBLIC SPENDING, PUBLIC WORKS, RAIL, RAIL CONNECTION, RAIL CORRIDOR, RAIL CORRIDORS, RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE, RAIL LINK, RAIL NETWORK, RAIL OPERATOR, RAIL TRAFFIC, RAIL TRANSPORTATION, RAILWAY, RAILWAY SERVICE, RAILWAY SYSTEM, RAILWAYS, REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, REHABILITATION INVESTMENTS, REVENUE COLLECTION, ROAD, ROAD ASSETS, ROAD CONNECTIONS, ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE, ROAD INVESTMENT, ROAD MAINTENANCE, ROAD NETWORK, ROAD SECTOR, ROAD TRAFFIC, ROADS, ROLLING STOCK, ROUTE, ROUTES, RURAL ROADS, SAFETY, SANITATION, SANITATION SECTOR, SANITATION SERVICES, SAVINGS, SEAT CAPACITY, SERVICE EXPANSION, SPEEDS, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, SUBSIDIARY, SURFACE TRANSPORT, TARIFFS FOR WATER, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELEPHONE CALLS, THERMAL PLANT, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC DENSITY, TRAFFIC VOLUME, TRAINS, TRANSIT, TRANSMISSION CAPACITY, TRANSMISSION LINE, TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT CORRIDORS, TRANSPORT INDUSTRY, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT INVESTMENTS, TRANSPORT MODE, TRANSPORT NETWORK, TRANSPORT PLAN, TRANSPORT POLICY, TRANSPORT PROJECTS, TRANSPORT SAFETY, TRANSPORT SECTOR, TREASURY, TRUCK PROCESSING, URBAN TRANSPORT, URBAN WATER UTILITY, URBANIZATION, USER CHARGES, UTILITIES, UTILITY BILLS, UTILITY SERVICES, WATER CONSUMPTION, WATER SUPPLY, WATER TARIFFS, WATER UTILITIES,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/305641468007861294/The-Republic-of-Congos-infrastructure-a-continental-perspective https://hdl.handle.net/10986/27259
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