Brazil

The development objective of the Bahia Poor Urban Areas Integrated Development Project for Brazil is to reduce urban poverty in a sustainable manner, targeting the poorest... Show More + and most vulnerable sections of Salvador and strategic cities of the state of Bahia with access to basic services and improved housing and social support services. The closing date of the project will be extended from November 30, 2012 until October 31, 2013. This will be the third extension of the closing date for a cumulative period of 33 months. The extension is, therefore, necessary to ensure that the remaining works and resettlement activities are concluded with effective implementation support provided by the Bank. The extension would make up for the delays in implementing the resettlement activities, and allow the time needed to agree with each affected household on a customized solution and to implement it. Show Less -

The development objective of the Additional Financing for the Rio de Janeiro Sustainable Rural Development Project for Brazil is to increase the adoption of integrated... Show More + and sustainable farming systems approaches in specific areas of the borrower's territory, thus contributing to the higher-order objective of increasing small-scale farming productivity and competitiveness in those areas. The additional financing will be used for: enabling the completion of original project activities (19 percent of the additional loan amount) by restoring the portion of the original loan amount that has been used for the emergency rehabilitation activities associated with the natural disaster of January 2011 in the Serrana region; and scaling up the project's impact and development effectiveness (81 percent of proposed additional loan amount). The additional financing will not result in any change in the project's development objective. The additional financing will be accompanied by an extension of the closing date of the project from November 30, 2016 to November 30, 2018. This two-year extension would be necessary to complete the activities to be initiated between 2012 and 2016, as the project gradually expands to new areas. Show Less -

Ratings for the Recife Urban Upgrading Project for Brazil were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory; risk to development outcome was moderate; Bank performance... Show More + was moderately unsatisfactory; and borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned includes: integrated urban upgrading, Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) and housing approach. The integrated urban upgrading approach used during the project improved efficiency, reduced project risks, promoted synergies between the various upgrading activities and increased the magnitude of the results. It allowed the implementing agencies to build their capacity to work in a coordinated manner. In addition, the project found the division of the targeted areas into Sanitation Collection Unit (UEs) to be immensely useful. Reducing design complexities: the involvement of the municipalities as both implementing agencies and co-financiers proved to be important for the outcomes of the project and for future sustainability. However, this management model also led to difficulties in implementation and coordination. Issues such as municipal autonomy, distinct technical and managerial capacities and financial constraints contributed to project delays and required high level intervention from the Governor and Mayors. Enforcing clear cut-off dates for resettlement. The Bank's resettlement policy recommends setting a cutoff date at the same time that the census is completed. After this date, no entitlements should be offered to people who settle in the area or make improvements to their homes or businesses. Under the project, resettlement was carried out in stages, and the project did not enforce the cutoff dates for resettlement eligibility. Rebalancing pre and post construction activities: the project focused on improving the living conditions of the residents of the basin through infrastructure and housing upgrades. The project did not place equal emphasis on how to sustain its results and promote the autonomy of the families. Slum upgrading projects usually have more intensive social and community development at the planning and implementation stages than at the post-implementation stage. Show Less -

The objective of the Tocantins Integrated Sustainable Regional Development Project for Brazil is to foster improved effectiveness of road transport and enhanced efficiency... Show More + of selected public services, in support of the borrower's integrated and territorially balanced development agenda. The project has 3 components. (1) Improving effectiveness of rural transport provision of support component will improve accessibility of the borrower's remote populations and, at the same time, foster regional economic integration and support the borrower's competitiveness and social inclusion agendas. (2) Enhanced efficiency of public services will provide the provision of support for institutional strengthening. (3) Project management component will provide support for project management in connection with the implementation and supervision of the project. Show Less -