Argentina

The development objective of the Additional financing for the Buenos Aires Infrastructure Sustainable Investment Development Project (Adaptable Program Loan - APL) is... Show More + to enhance the provision of water and sewerage services for the benefit of low-income people, in particular for those people living in highly vulnerable areas; to improve high priority road segments of the borrower's road network; to mitigate urban flooding; and to support the reactivation of the borrower's economy and strengthen its regional competitiveness. The changes are necessary because of considerable increases in construction costs in Argentina, which are affecting the availability of funds to finance the works initially foreseen in the program (both APLs), thus justifying the present restructuring. The changes described in this Project Paper will only affect the additional financing and include the: 1) revising the scope of the civil work components to reflect construction cost increases; 2) reallocating project costs among components accordingly; 3) adjusting the target values of project indicators to account for the revised project scope; and 4) changing the loan financing percentage. This restructuring does not imply any changes to the project development objective or implementation arrangements. Show Less -

The Argentina Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Sustainable and Transport and Air Quality (STAQ) Project follows the higher level objectives of the Regional Program,... Show More + and have a common focus in assisting participant cities in: (i) towards reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by increasing use of less energy intensive transport modes in cities; and (ii) inducing policy changes in favor of sustainable transport projects. The level two restructuring of the Project seeks: (i) a one-year extension of the closing date in order to match the implementation window of partner projects - regional GEF STAQ, Brazil GEF STAQ, and Mexico GEF STAQ as well as to complete certain activities under the project; and (ii) an adjustment to the project's results framework. Both changes will have no impact in the project's development objectives, activities and implementation arrangements. The Argentina STAQ project (US$3.987 million) was prepared based on local governments' submissions in 2005. Because of a two-year effectiveness delay, the original assumptions regarding the timing of GEF-financed and of co-financed activities proved unrealistic. In addition, the time required for project impacts to materialize is also longer than originally anticipated because such impacts depend in part on complementary investments that will be completed only several years after the Grant is closed. Consequently, planned outcomes have to be changed. Show Less -

The objective of the First Adaptable Program Loan (APL1) for the Urban Flood Prevention and Drainage Project is to reduce the city of Buenos Aires vulnerability to flooding... Show More + through the improvement of the level of protection of its drainage system and the implementation of a risk management program. To adjust to implementation experience the following changes are in process: 1) changing the project indicators and target values to simplify the results framework, clarify ambiguities around the quantification of certain values, and accurately reflect activities financed under the project and their outcomes; 2) extension of the closing date to August 31, 2012 (amounting to 2 months) and completing ongoing technical assistance activities and works; and 3) reallocation of funds from two of the loan agreement disbursement categories to the 'consultants services and project audits' disbursement category. The project was also restructured to reflect changes in implementation arrangements, which consisted of the transfer of responsibilities for technical coordination of the project. Show Less -

The objective of the Basic Municipal Services Project for Argentina is to improve the quality of life and the quality of basic municipal services through the provision... Show More + of water supply and sanitation, urban drainage, and roads infrastructure in an equitable and fiscally sustainable manner. This restructuring paper reflects the following changes: 1) extension of the loan's closing date for twenty (20) moths from March 31, 2012 until November 30, 2013 to enable the completion of ongoing contracts and the preparation of additional subprojects; 2) reallocation of loan proceeds to enable funding additional investments on road infrastructure subprojects (rehabilitation and paving), to meet the demand observed during project implementation; 3) change the percentage of expenditures to be financed by the loan for categories one and two set in the Loan Agreement to up to 100 percent; and 4) update the project's result framework based on implementation experience. Show Less -

The objective of the Urban Flood Prevention and Drainage Project is to reduce the city of Buenos Aires vulnerability to flooding through the improvement of the level... Show More + of protection of its drainage system and the implementation of a risk management program. The project would focus on the issue of risk identification and reduction through prevention, mitigation, and education. The closing date extension is necessary to: 1) complete the ongoing works in the tunnels and secondary drainage network; 2) initiate and complete non-structural measures agreed in the Project Appraisal Document (PAD); and 3) allow for the orderly completion of the project and closing of the loan. The delay in project implementation is due to a combination of the delay of sixteen months in project effectiveness; and a lengthened process for procuring the large and complex tunnel works contract under international competitive bidding. The tunneling works are progressing at an optimum pace and are expected to reach 50 percent completion by the end of 2010. Show Less -

The Basic Municipal Services Project for Argentina was approved June 6, 2006 and became effective June 1, 2007. Currently, the overall operation is being implemented... Show More + across eight participating provinces (Mendoza, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, Santa Fe, Tucuman, La Rioja and Buenos Aires) and is financing subprojects in the areas of water, sanitation, urban drainage and flood protection, and basic transportation access initiatives. The restructuring will trigger the Involuntary Resettlement Policy (OP 4.12) and will involve the strengthening of safeguards management instruments to ensure for the appropriate management of potential OP 4.12 related impacts under the operation. The Bank team concluded during implementation, based on an assessment of subprojects to be financed under the operation that these investments would involve minor OP 4.12 related impacts and as such the project will benefit from the triggering of OP 4.12 and the strengthening of associated management instruments. Additionally, a case of resettlement was identified under the project in the province of Rio Negro and this restructuring will also enables the project to more effectively develop and implement a remedial action plan for the case. Show Less -

The objective of the Metropolitan Areas Urban Transport Project is to improve the quality and sustainability of urban transport systems in Argentine metropolitan areas,... Show More + through the improvement of sectoral decision making frameworks and by giving priority to public transport modes in the urban transport sector. There are five components to the project, the first component being creation of a Metropolitan Transport Agency (MTA) for the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The objective of this component is to strengthen the capacity for transportation planning and management at the metropolitan level. This component will prepare the legal, technical, financial, and institutional conditions for the creation of a MTA. The second component is the urban transport improvements in Argentina's medium size metropolitan areas. The objective of this component is to enhance the mobility conditions of selected Argentina's medium size metropolitan areas. This component addresses sectoral issues such as the underinvestment in road maintenance and road infrastructure, increased traffic congestion in urban areas, the decreasing quality of public transport service and the limited intermodal integration. The third component is the public transport access and modal integration in Buenos Aires metropolitan area. This component provides an integral strategy to improve service quality by acting simultaneously on bus-train physical integration, accessibility to stations, railway signaling improvements, and rail-road crossings. The fourth component is the sectoral training: urban transport planning master. The objective of this component is to improve academic training in urban transport. The component will design a postgraduate program (masters) in urban transport including all the component disciplines such as engineering, planning, economics, etc. Finally, the fifth component is the project management. Show Less -