Infrastructure and Development
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“Infrastructure—particularly ‘economic infrastructure’ supporting power, transport, water and communications—is central to efforts to poverty reduction. It boosts economic growth and supports sustainable development. Access to basic infrastructure services remains a challenge: 1.4 billion people do not have access to electricity, and in Africa only one-third of the population has access to an all-weather road. A large funding gap for infrastructure exists, with Africa alone requiring $93 billion a year to meet its infrastructure needs. However, the continent saw a tenfold increase in funding between 2002 and 2007. Non-traditional donors including China and India provide a growing share of such funding. A significant share of UK aid is spent on infrastructure. This is channelled both though DFID bilateral programmes and allocations to multilateral development banks. Population growth of up to 2 billion people worldwide by 2050 will further stretch infrastructure capacity, for example placing water and food storage and distribution networks under strain. Urban populations are likely to increase most, intensifying the already urgent challenge of improving infrastructure in slums and megacities. Climate compatible solutions are likely to be key to addressing these challenges. Key issues for the inquiry include: Key priorities in strengthening infrastructure in developing countries, including: • Policy frameworks for infrastructure development and regional integration, especially ‘economic’, cross-border, transport (including low-carbon options and road safety) and ‘corridor’ infrastructure; and • Pro-poor infrastructure, including: urban services; infrastructure that supports employment, agriculture, food and water; disaster-resilient infrastructure. Mechanisms, including : • Financing for infrastructure, including the role of: development banks; other multilaterals; development finance institutions; climate finance; user fees; subsidies; and bilateral aid; • The role of the private sector, including public private partnerships; and • Community participation; and opportunities for low-carbon technologies to benefit poor people. DFID’s role, including : • Providing the right approaches in different countries and contexts; • Ensuring increased transparency and reducing corruption; and • Staff and expertise. The deadline for submitting written evidence is Monday 28 February Written evidence submitted should : • Be provided electronically in MS Word or Rich Text format by e-mail to indcom@parliament.uk . If submitted by e-mail or e-mail attachment, a letter should also be sent validating the e-mail. The letterhead should contain your full postal address and contact details; • Begin with a one page summary if it is longer than six pages; • Have numbered paragraphs; and • Avoid the use of colour or expensive-to-print material. Submissions can also be sent by post to International Development Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA. A guide for written submissions to Select Committees is available. Please also note that : • Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within written evidence, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included. If a number of published documents are sent to accompany written evidence, these should be listed in the covering email. • Written evidence submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organization submitting it is specifically authorised. • Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Record Office. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. • It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. • Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
Roads, power, water and other infrastructure are essential for trade and growth and for development, including meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) spent £929.5 million on infrastructure in 2009–10.
Just over half (£516.6 million) of this expenditure is spent directly by DFID, mostly through country programmes. The Department has strengths in this area, notably in designing innovative solutions to infrastructure problems—especially through support to financing initiatives such as the Private Infrastructure Development Group—and in supporting improvements in regional infrastructure to help growth, for example through TradeMark programmes in East and Southern Africa.
DFID channels almost half of its funding (£412.9 million) for infrastructure through multilateral development banks. Here there is scope for improvement; for example, DFID must improve its monitoring of its multilateral expenditure on infrastructure projects, particularly the funds spent by the European Union (EU), World Bank and African Development Bank.
DFID’s spending must not only build the infrastructure, but also boost employment, local procurement and the private sector within developing countries. DFID should make a greater contribution to boosting local capacity by adding provisions to large multilateral infrastructure projects that require local capacity building. This should include the training of construction workers as well as the relevant professionals necessary to design, build and maintain projects. Better use should also be made of UK engineers who could be encouraged to share their expertise with engineers in developing countries.
The construction sector in developing countries is particularly prone to corruption. DFID was one of the donors which established the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) to counter corruption. The Initiative has proved effective and is to be transferred to the World Bank. DFID should continue to provide the funding and staff time to ensure that CoST fulfils its early promise.
Building roads in Africa requires a different, more ‘low-tech’ approach compared with road-building in the developed world. More research on how to build appropriate roads in rural Africa is needed, and the substantial body of knowledge already amassed needs to be better disseminated. The African Community Access Programme is particularly deserving of expanded DFID support. We recommend that DFID’s current funding of £7.5 million over seven years should be increased, and that it continues to provide support after the end of the current programme, expected in 2013.
The death toll on roads in developing countries is appallingly high; at 1.3 million people annually, it is higher than the global death toll caused by malaria. DFID should ensure that roads built by multilateral organisations are designed to improve safety and reduce road deaths.
What the government said
9th Report - DFID's Role in Building Infrastructure in Developing Countries - Volume I (Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence)
No government response is linked to this report.
9th Report - DFID's Role in Building Infrastructure in Developing Countries - Volume II (Additional written evidence)
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 2 February 2011 to its close on 1 April 2012.
- Report 2 reports
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 9th Report - DFID's Role in Building Infrastructure in Developing Countries - Volume I (Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence) ↗ and 9th Report - DFID's Role in Building Infrastructure in Developing Countries - Volume II (Additional written evidence) ↗ on parliament.uk.