Ratings for the Port-au Prince Neighborhood Housing Reconstruction Project (PREKAD) for Haiti were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was moderate, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Grantee performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: community engagement can play an important role in post-disaster reconstruction. Infrastructure projects can support governments to take leadership of overall reconstruction efforts and strengthen institutional coordination. Countries that are highly vulnerable to disasters will benefit from preventively establishing or strengthening housing policies, building standards, land planning tools, and land tenure mechanisms. The Government of Haiti (GOH) successfully implemented standard approaches for assessing post-disaster damages to infrastructure and housing. PREKAD supported the development of institutional tools for future disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts, in particular to address the displacement of affected people. Implementation of social housing projects with community management of shared spaces are possible in the Haitian context, despite the lower social cohesion in urban areas, mistrust of state actors, and weak land-tenure systems. On-going institutional strengthening and capacity building will be necessary in fragile contexts such as Haiti to ensure sustainability of project outcomes. In disaster-prone and fragile countries, allow for a flexible project design and make use of existing mechanisms.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4162 OCT 31, 2017
Bulgaria’s housing sector provides a window into the broader issues of the country’s social, political, and economic transformation in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region over the last 25 years.
... See More + The country’s transition has been difficult, and the Government of Bulgaria (GOB) has played an active role in reforming the housing sector – starting in 2004 with a Housing Strategy, to more recent large scale initiatives to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings. Still, many challenges remain, and while these challenges are not unique to the region, they appear to be more acute in Bulgaria. Bulgaria consolidated its transition after most other transition economies, with the result that, unlike other reformers, sustained economic growth took hold almost a decade later than it did elsewhere. Indeed, it took 14 years for real per capita income to return to pre-transition levels. The country suffered through hyperinflation, a financial crisis, and considerable political turmoil, falling increasingly behind other reformers such as Hungary or Poland. Until the end of the century, Bulgaria remained locked in a lower income status, and its economic performance diverged from other reformers and its European Union (EU) neighbors. For example, if it had been able to stabilize in, say, 5 years rather than the 11 it took (1989-2000), and grow at the average rate, its per capita income would be 40 percent higher than it is now.One of the main reasons Bulgaria weathered the downturn badly was the bursting of its housing bubble; it is still experiencing one of the deepest and longest persisting housing downturns among transition countries. This downturn has been one of the main contributors to the increase in poverty that occurred post-2008 as construction employment – one of the largest employers of low-skilled workers – plummeted. Moreover, unlike the usual underlying causes of housing bubbles, in Bulgaria the bubble was not caused by too much mortgage credit; the country continues to have the lowest share of mortgage debt among transition countries. Instead, as this report will show, more fundamental housing market obstacles are at play. Sectoral distortions slow the sector, increase costs, reduce employment, and contribute to the country’s inability to close the income gap with the EU-28.
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The development objective of the WAEMU Affordable Housing Finance Project for Western Africa is to expand access to long-term housing finance in WAEMU, including for undeserved households.the project will have a financing component (IDA scale-up facility credit to the West African Development Bank -Boad) and a technical assistance component (regional IDA grant to WAEMU).the IDA suf credit to BOAD requires a waiver from the board.although IDA financing to Boad would not benefit from the usual sovereign guarantee, the risk of non-payment is low.the financing to BOAD will comprise two components.
... See More + First component, will provide long-term loans to banks secured against small mortgage loans. Second component, will extend funding for housing loans to non-bank financial institutions, serving the informal sector, and households with low incomes.
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Bulgaria’s housing sector provides a window into the broader issues of the country’s social, and economic transformation. This process has been difficult, and, as was the case in many transition countries, one of the main problem areas has been the housing sector.
... See More + While the government has played an active role in reforming the housing sector since 2004, and continued with initiatives to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings, new sectoral problems have emerged. Vacancy rates are extremely high, affordability concerns have intensified, and household mobility is one of the lowest among transition countries. As a result, the government is about to embark on a housing strategy, one that seeks to address the emerging issues with a particular emphasis on how this sector’s functioning interacts with and affects the broader economy. This rapid assessment of Bulgaria’s housing sector attempts to inform the country’s forthcoming strategy. It brings together information on how the sector has performed, and relies upon the international experience, and particularly the experience of other transition economies, to set the stage for the prospective Strategy’s deeper probe. Bulgaria followed a Soviet style planning approach that created one of the world’s most over industrialized economies. In following this approach, it expanded many cities to service what are now bankrupt heavy industries. The result is that today the employment prospects in many locations remain dim, particularly where state-owned factories of the old regime have closed. This has resulted in massive population shifts, with some villages and towns facing complete abandonment. The country has a large ageing population, and is also experiencing one of the world’s sharpest reductions in population. Population has declined by almost 20 percent since 1989, and this trend is likely to intensify over the next two decades.
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The development objective of the Improving Access to Affordable Housing Project for Mexico is to increase access to affordable housing for low-income beneficiaries.
... See More + The project comprises of three components. The first component, acquisition of housing units will enhance access to housing by assisting low-income beneficiaries to purchase their first new or existing housing unit in eligible locations through the provision of direct supports. The second component, self- production of housing units will enhance access to housing by assisting low-income beneficiaries in the design and construction of their housing units through the provision of direct support. The third component, strengthening urban management will foster the development of affordable housing through the carrying out of: (a) technical and analytical studies to assist in the formulation and revision of selected municipal urban planning instruments including, inter alia: (i) housing demand diagnostics; (ii) infrastructure requirement analysis to inform master plans for urban renovation and or densification; (iii) technical-prefeasibility studies; (iv) architecture urban design studies; and (v) financial structuring for affordable housing investments; and (b) citizen awareness campaigns and other dissemination and communication activities.
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The development objective of the Improving Access to Affordable Housing Project for Mexico is to increase access to affordable housing for low-income beneficiaries.
... See More + The project comprises of three components. The first component, acquisition of housing units will enhance access to housing by assisting low-income beneficiaries to purchase their first new or existing housing unit in eligible locations through the provision of direct supports. The second component, self- production of housing units will enhance access to housing by assisting low-income beneficiaries in the design and construction of their housing units through the provision of direct support. The third component, strengthening urban management will foster the development of affordable housing through the carrying out of: (a) technical and analytical studies to assist in the formulation and revision of selected municipal urban planning instruments including, inter alia: (i) housing demand diagnostics; (ii) infrastructure requirement analysis to inform master plans for urban renovation and or densification; (iii) technical-prefeasibility studies; (iv) architecture urban design studies; and (v) financial structuring for affordable housing investments; and (b) citizen awareness campaigns and other dissemination and communication activities.
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The objective of the Electricity Access and Service Expansion Project for Congo, Democratic Republic of is to expand access to electricity in target areas.
... See More + There are three components to the project, the first component being network upgrades and access expansion in selected SNEL service areas. Component one is aimed at increasing and improving access by addressing critical rehabilitation needs in the SNEL-operated distribution network zones where power is either available from high voltage/medium voltage (MV) substations or can be restored in generation plants. It will target investments identified as ‘priority’ by SNEL in its recovery plan and aligned with the GoDRC’s drive to electrify provincial capitals. This component includes three subcomponents: investments in Kinshasa; Mobayi hydropower plant and Gbadolite distribution network; and technical assistance for SNEL investments. The second component is the private sector based access expansion. This component will promote private sector access expansion. It was conceptualized based on recommendations from a study funded by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) that was carried out during project preparation. The study assessed over 30 electricity access subprojects from various developers, identified the most advanced subproject developers, analyzed selected developers’ business plans, and highlighted the financial barriers faced by the private sector to be able to expand electricity access. To address the financing constraints, the component will provide debt and grant support to implement qualifying access subprojects. Early investments are expected to include subprojects under active development by experienced private developers12 that have been identified under the study. The component comprises two subcomponents. The first will develop, and potentially pilot the implementation of a Credit Support Facility (CSF) to provide commercial term financing for commercial investments. The second will set up an Electrification Fund, which will provide connection cost subsidies and grants to address consumer affordability and fill the ‘viability gap’ for near-commercial investments. Further assistance from ESMAP is envisioned to support the development of this component during implementation. Finally, the third component is the sector development and implementation support. The component will contribute to the implementation of key institutional provisions of the 2014 electricity law, critical to expanding private participation in electricity access outside of SNEL’s current service area. It will also serve as a platform for developing follow-on investments, through comprehensive planning and feasibility studies, and provide needed resources for project implementation and monitoring. The component comprises four subcomponents. institutional strengthening, planning and investment development, mid-size hydro feasibility, and project management.
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The development objective of the National Safety Net Program (NSNP) for Results Project for Kenya is to support the Republic of Kenya to establish an effective national safety net program for poor and vulnerable households.
... See More + The additional financing (AF) with restructuring builds on progress made in the original NSNP and continues financing results in three areas: (a) expanding cash transfer programs to promote more comprehensive and equitable coverage; (b) strengthening program systems to ensure good governance; and (c) harmonizing cash transfer programs to increase the coherence of the safety net sector. The AF will ensure the long-term sustainability of the program by enabling the government to take over financing of additional households, including the funding for 60,000 households under two cash transfer schemes currently being financed by the United Kingdom (U.K.) Department for International Development (DfID).
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The development objective of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project for Kenya is to strengthen urban services and infrastructure in the Nairobi metropolitan region.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) cash compensation of all immoveable developments on the affected land, such as structures; (2) replacement of lost land by agricultural land of similar potential under similar customary tenure arrangements - cash compensation for land or non - cash compensation of land; (3) resettlement house of similar or better quality on a resettlement plot and cash compensation of the lost house per Kenyan law at full replacement value; and (4) cash compensation of standing perennial crops at replacement value and of non-perennial crops at market value.
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The development objective of the Integrated Habitat and Housing Project for Argentina are to: (i) increase access to formal housing for eligible households; and (ii) improve living conditions for households in selected precarious urban settlements.
... See More + The project consists of four components are : First component, increased access to formal housing will finance the provision of up-front subsidies to selected beneficiaries . It will support the roll-out of the first nation-wide demand-driven housing subsidy program, the Solucion Casa Propia Program (SCPP). Second component, integrated habitat improvement will finance subproject interventions in precarious urban settlements that meet basic eligibility criteria. Each subproject will aim to transform the settlements (both physically and socially) through integrated interventions to provide secure legal tenure, access to basic services, public spaces, community infrastructure, works to reduce environmental risks, including those related to climate change and social programs, such as gender specific programs. Each subproject will be designed and implemented in a participatory manner (consultations will include the GOA, civil society and private sector service providers), leveraging existing programs and services. Third component, institutional strengthening is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments in the housing, habitat and urban sectors through, inter alia, the provision of support to strengthen SVH’s capacity to implement the project, including: (a) carrying out of assessments of the existing national-level housing initiatives; (b) design and implementation of an evaluation study for SCPP; (c) provision of support for the design and implementation of the management, operational and reporting systems for federal housing programs; (d) strengthening land regularization processes, improving urban design and sustainability of basic services and improving economic, cultural and social aspects of the subprojects under Component 2; and (e) carrying out of capacity building and training activities for the national and local governments’ staff and the participating entity’s staff for subproject preparation, in line with the National Habitat Plan; Fourth component, project management will finance support for the management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Project, including, inter alia: (a) carrying out of the Project audits; (b) conducting outreach campaigns to disseminate the Project; (c) carrying out of mid-term and final impact evaluation surveys to evaluate the Project’s impact; (d) provision of technical support on procurement, safeguards and financial management requirements, including the hiring of the National Coordination Unit (UCN) staff; and (e) financing of Operating Costs.
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The development objective of Livelihood Enhancement and Association of the Poor (LEAP) Project for Cambodia is to provide poor and vulnerable households in selected rural and urban communities improved access to financial services, opportunities for generating income, and small-scale infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (a) information on involuntary resettlement and on provisions for compensation is provided to the Commune Council during one of the first information or training meetings; (b) the detailed survey and mapping team carries out its work in presence of at least one representative from each village; (c) special attention is paid to map (a) all current land use with the proposed LEAP including temporary chamkar of poor families, and (b) all fallows in case of remaining rotational agriculture; (c) a village consultation meeting inviting all land users is held prior to deciding to set up an exchange scheme for existing land users between their current land and LEAP land, to ensure that data on current land use within the LEAP area are verified with the occupiers and that all such schemes are largely voluntary; (e) a consultation meeting is held with Commune and village officials and representatives, as well as concerned land users, prior to small infrastructure design; (f) the affected families have the right to receive land in compensation for land lost, cash in compensation for fixed assets and standing crops, and the cost of rebuilding a house; and (g) in communities still carrying out the rotational shifting cultivation system of indigenous peoples, exclude these areas from the proposed LEAP.
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The development objective of Livelihood Enhancement and Association of the Poor Project for Cambodia is to provide poor and vulnerable households in selected rural and urban communities improved access to financial services, opportunities for generating income, and small-scale infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (a) vegetation cover and or trees at the construction site (road, drainage system, etc.) or any other location to be used by the Project may be removed or disturbed during construction phase; (b) if sand, gravel and stones from river bed is extracted, flowing pattern of river may be seriously affected; (c) excavation works generate waste; (d) uncontrolled generation of wastewater may cause environmental pollution, nuisance, and health concerns to workers and the public; (e) some of the solid waste may be cross-contaminated with oil, paints, etc. that may be toxic and pose public health risk; (f) exposure to high level of dust and smoke may have health impact: affect respiratory system, eyes; (g) noise disturb hearing or listening activities and may cause stress and or headaches; (h) the eroded top soil will ends up at downslope then being wash down further by rain water causing highly turbid water and river bed or stream siltation or sedimentation; (i ) cultural sites may be affected with dust, noise from material and waste loading or disposals Some artefacts may expose during execution of earthworks at the sites; (j) stagnant water formed from disturbed area at construction site is favor for mosquito breeding, which is a vector of water-borne diseases; and (k) construction-related activities may cause safety risks for local community, particularly children if they access to open holes or present at the site during materials transports loading and unloading.
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