Land assets have become an important
source of financing capital investments by subnational
governments in developing countries. Land assets, often with
billions of dollars per transaction, rival and sometimes
surpass subnational borrowing or fiscal transfers for
capital spending. While reducing the uncertainty surrounding
future debt repayment capacity, the use of land-based
revenues for financing infrastructure can entail substantial

Despite strong economic growth,
investment in basic urban infrastructure -- water supply,
wastewater removal and treatment, roads, and other
capital-intensive systems -- has failed to keep pace with
urban growth, leaving a critical urban infrastructure
deficit. At the same time, urban lands in these many
developing countries are among the most expensive in the
world. Much of this land is owned by public authorities.

The purpose of this study was to augment
the Bank's research on land markets and investigate key
land market issues in four case study cities in South and
East Asia. From the study results, the consultants have
attempted to determine whether or not certain policy
instruments can be adopted in the respective cities and in
other regions of the world. Ultimately the study, in tracing
the role of various land development policies in these

As the world is urbanizing, many cities
are grappling with a population that is growing rapidly,
thereby increasing demand for land and housing. This
pressure on land and housing markets often is exacerbated by
inappropriate or inadequate policies. The result is a supply
of well-located land and housing that falls well short of
demand and the proliferation of poorly serviced informal
settlements, many of which are located far from jobs, city

In 2012, the World Bank signed five
agreements with MRDPA for advisory services, out of which
one relates to the growth poles policy and to its
improvement for the programming period 2014-2020. This
agreement has three components: 1) an analysis of the growth
poles policy, 2) energy efficiency studies for each growth
pole; and 3) a review of the Integrated Development Plans
prepared by the growth poles for the period 2007-2013. In

The 2014-2015 Romania Regional
Development 2 Program is the continuation of the World
Bank’s technical assistance to the Ministry of Regional
Development and Public Administration (MRDPA). Building on
the previous engagement, the current work addresses a
fundamental question: given Romania’s persistent development
challenges, how can the country do more with less when it
comes to the public infrastructure it needs? The key is to

Maritime transport carries more than
nine-tenths of tonnage of world international trade. The
international shipping industry, competitive and dominated
by private companies, has delivered to trading nations
increasing capacity, generally improving service levels, and
declining unit shipping costs. To access and extract the
maximum benefit from this vital transport resource each
nation depends on the performance of its ports sector; not

The purpose of this study is to serve as
a guide on developing Greenfield transport infrastructure
(rail and port) primarily used to support mining operations
('mining-related infrastructure'), through
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes and on a project
finance basis. The focus is on key financing issues and
considerations, as well as recommendations for governments
and private-sector participants, specifically in the context

Eurasian cities, unique in the global
spatial landscape, were part of the world's largest
experiment in urban development. The challenges they now
face because of their history offer valuable lessons to
urban planners and policymakers across the world from places
that are still urbanizing to those already urbanized. Today,
Eurasian cities must respond to three big changes: the
breakup of the Soviet Union, the return of the market as the

This paper includes the following
headings: education public, private, and partnerships, or
PPPs come of age; vouching for the future; mobile learning
dials up success; U.S. Secretary of Education by Arne
Duncan; perspective; compass; and legalese.

This paper examines the policy options
for India as it seeks to improve living conditions of the
poor on a large scale and reduce the population in slums.
Addressing the problem requires first a diagnosis of the
market at the city level and a recognition that government
interventions, rather than thwarting the operations of the
market, should seek to make it operate better. This can
substantially reduce the subsidies required to assist low

Sri Lanka's country vision is to
become a global hub between the East and the West and an
upper middle-income country by 2016. Sri Lanka's urban
vision, as defined in the government's development
policy framework is to develop a system of competitive,
environmentally sustainable, well-linked cities clustered in
five metro regions and nine metro cities and to provide
every family with affordable and adequate urban shelter by