ISLAMABAD: A report launched by the World Bank Group (WB) here on Thursday revealed that investment in transport corridors is expected to create large economic surpluses that could spread throughout the economy and society. It stressed the need for fair and equitable distribution of the investments benefits across the population.
The report titled, ‘Wider Economic Benefits of Transport Corridors in South Asia’ was jointly launched by World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UKAID.
The report aimed at presenting the past and recent case studies of corridor initiatives and making an assessment of corridor investments supported by international development organisations. Highlighting the salient features of the report, Wider Economic Benefits of Transport Corridors’ lead, Martin Melecky, said that there are many corridor proposals but there was a dire need for bridging the gap between investment and financing capacity and stressed the need for adopting the holistic appraisal methodology.
The report urged for engaging the private sector, considering disparities in regional development, and stressed the need for civil society organisation’s integration in the uses of transport corridors along with their designs and implementation.
It called upon the policymakers to ensure the private sector’s understanding of the corridor programme, taking ownership and ensuring it was not overwhelmed by risk. The analysis suggested that so far the engagement of the private sector might have contributed to the development success of corridor projects.
