Road Network Impacts on the Poor

Simon Lucas, Infrastructure Adviser, DIFD VietnamNguyen Quang Khai, Independent Consultant

Large scale Infrastructure and poverty reduction

Sofitel Plaza Hotel, Hanoi 25th September 2003

Today's Agenda

• Part 1

- DFID and Infrastructure

- Rural road impacts in Vietnam

• Part 2 Findings from the perception study on rural connectivity

Infrastructure and developmentIn

fra

str

uc

ture

sto

ck

s p

er

ca

pit

a , 1

99

0 (

$, 1

98

5 p

ric

es

)

GDP per capita, 1990 (PPP dollars)Middle East and North AfricaLatin America and the CaribbeanEast Asia and Pacific

Sub-Saharan AfricaSouth AsiaEurope and Central Asia

100

1000

10000

1000 10000100

ChadRwanda

Mali

Zambia

Bangladesh

Guatemala

Paraguay

Mauritius

Mexico

Spain

Norway

Japan

Australia

Source: World Development Report, 1994

Lessons learnt in Vietnam

• High level of demand

• Institutional, capacity & ownership issues remain critical

• Infrastructure allows introduction of technology and services

but is not an end in itself

• Rural transport moving from build to maintain

• Still requires short term increase in sector allocations to reach

CPRGS targets and reach the most inaccessible

• The most disadvantaged areas are paying most

Initial findings from Network study

• Big disparities in “access” depending on region - closely

correlated with depth of poverty

• There remains a difficulty in whether to prioritize “the most

poor or the most poor”

• Connection to higher level roads are important for certain

groups in rural areas

• Important as the sub-sector provides pre-conditions for

rural growth

Poverty Reduction and Development

Estimated impact of roads on living standards, 1993-98

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

250 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000

Mean exp. per capita in province, 1998 (000 VND)

% in

crea

se in

p.c

. exp

du

e to

es

tab

lism

ent

of a

roa

d, 1

993-

98

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Cu

mu

lati

ve %

of

pop

ula

tion

% increase in per capitaexpenditure due toestablishment of a road, 1993-98

Cumulative % of population

Don’t forget the waterways

Source TDSI/IFRTD sudy on waterways and livelihoods May 2003 funded by DFID

Findings from the perception study on rural connectivity

Simon Lucas, Infrastructure Adviser, DIFD VietnamNguyen Quang Khai, Independent Consultant

Large scale Infrastructure and poverty reductionSofitel Plaza Hotel, Hanoi 25th September 2003