The World Bank Uruguay - Improving Service Delivery to Citizens and Businesses through E-Government Project (P161989) REPORT NO.: RES47670 DOCUMENT OF THE WORLD BANK RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF URUGUAY - IMPROVING SERVICE DELIVERY TO CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES THROUGH E-GOVERNMENT PROJECT APPROVED ON AUGUST 3, 2017 TO ORIENTAL REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY GOVERNANCE LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Regional Vice President: Carlos Felipe Jaramillo Country Director: Jordan Z. Schwartz Regional Director: Robert R. Taliercio Practice Manager/Manager: Adrian Fozzard Task Team Leader(s): Henry Forero Ramirez, Silvana Kostenbaum The World Bank Uruguay - Improving Service Delivery to Citizens and Businesses through E-Government Project (P161989) I. BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P161989 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Approval Date Current Closing Date 03-Aug-2017 31-Dec-2021 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Oriental Republic of Uruguay Ministry of Economy and Finance Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO To improve the quality of selected e-government services for citizens, businesses and the Borrower's public entities, and facilitate their access. Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IBRD-87780 03-Aug-2017 07-Nov-2017 28-Dec-2017 31-Dec-2021 12.00 7.36 4.64 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No II. SUMMARY OF PROJECT STATUS AND PROPOSED CHANGES The World Bank Uruguay - Improving Service Delivery to Citizens and Businesses through E-Government Project (P161989) The proposed restructuring will extend the project closing date by eighteen months, from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2023. The extension will allow the project to complete activities and achieve the two PDO indicators currently pending. This is the first extension of the project closing date. The restructuring responds to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s letter of July 12, 2021 requesting an extension of the project closing date. The Government confirmed budget allocation for the extension period to implement the proposed operational plans and to ensure full disbursement of resources by the new closing date. The Government also confirmed commitment to support project activities, in particular activities directed to achieve the two PDO indicators that have not met their final targets as of July 2021. All four PDO indicators are part of the current administration’s priority areas. The Improving Service Delivery to Citizens and Businesses through E-Government Project (P161989) is a US$12 million Investment Project Financing (IPF) approved by the Board on August 3, 2017. The project development objective (PDO) is to improve the quality of selected e-government services for citizens and businesses and facilitate access. The project has four components: Component 1 Improving the delivery of e-government services to citizens; Component 2 Improving the delivery of e-government services to businesses; Component 3 Improving the delivery of e- government services to government entities; and Component 4 Strategic diagnostics, activities and knowledge sharing, and project coordination. Project disbursements were 61.34 percent of the loan amount as of July 2021. Progress towards achieving the PDO is rated Moderately Satisfactory. The PDO has four indicators, two of them have already been achieved. Overall Implementation Progress (IP) is rated Moderately Satisfactory. The project implementing agency is the Unit for Project Coordination (UCP) within the Ministry of Economic and Finance (MEF). Rationale for restructuring. Project implementation was stalled during the period January 2020-June 2021 (eighteen months) due to the COVID-19 emergency and the transition between Governments. In January 2021, the incoming Government updated its National Digital Agenda Uruguay 2030. Project objectives and activities are consistent with the new agenda. MEF appointed a new coordinator responsible for the UCP, maintaining the project structure consistent with the current Operational Manual. In June 2021, MEF signed an Aide Memoire including an updated section on the 2021 annual work program for the project and relaunched procurement processes to resume activities. The Bank assesses that with this revised work program, the project activities will be able to be completed within the requested extension and the PDO indicators are achievable in that timeframe. The restructuring does not entail any changes in subcomponents. AGESIC, VUCE and ANII continued implementing project activities with the government’s own resources during 2020 and the first semester of 2021. Consequently, funds allocated to these activities are available for reallocation. The reallocation proposed in the request is technically acceptable and targeted at supporting activities to ensure completion of pending project development indicators. In particular, the reallocation will enable the receipt of electronic invoices by State entities and strengthen MEF’s capacity to manage information through the provision of technical assistance for the production, processing, analysis and dissemination of information within MEF’s priority areas. The restructuring entails the reallocation of resources (US$ 3.9 million) as follows: US$ 0.8 million to Component 1; US$ 0.6 million to Component 2; US$ 2.2 million to Component 3; US$ 0.2 to Component 4. The fiduciary risk for such an extension is considered low. The project does not have any outstanding audit reports. The most recent audited statements for the period January 1 – December 31, 2020 were delivered on time and are acceptable to the Bank. Audit clean opinions were given by the auditors on the Project Basic Financial Statements The World Bank Uruguay - Improving Service Delivery to Citizens and Businesses through E-Government Project (P161989) (Sources and Uses of Funds and Cumulative Investments Statement); the Statement of Expenditures; and the Designated Account and no material internal control weaknesses were reported by the auditors. The Procurement processes to be executed will be conducted using the Bank’s ‘Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers’, issued in July 2016 and updated in November 2020, for the supply of goods, non-consulting and consulting services foreseen. Procurement activities will be included in the Procurement Plan for the Project in STEP and will be submitted for the Bank’s clearance prior to its implementation, ensuring its consistency with the Project’s Procurement Strategy. The overall project risk is Low. III. DETAILED CHANGES LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications IBRD-87780 Effective 31-Dec-2021 30-Jun-2023 30-Oct-2023