Brazil

The objective of the Rio de Janeiro Strengthening Public Sector Management Technical Assistance Project for Brazil is to support institutional capacity strengthening... Show More + in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro to enhance public service delivery, including in health, education and environmental management. The project has 4 components. (1) Fiscal and public investment management component will provide support for the improving medium term fiscal and public investment management process through the integration of impact evaluation results, performance information and proposed policy changes in the planning and budget process; and the carrying out of diagnostic evaluations, and the implementation of the recommended actions resulting from said evaluations. (2) Innovating in service provision component will provide further support to innovations introduced that have proven effective in improving health and education service delivery. (3) Strengthening social governance and monitoring and impact evaluation component will focus on strengthening the program operational systems, as well as on promoting innovations in the way sectoral policies are coordinated in order to promote the integration of secured favelas. (4) Innovating environmental management component will develop the institutional framework for the development and implementation of the monitoring system; support technical assistance, equipment, and training to ensure an effective data collection, modeling, reporting and monitoring and evaluation. Show Less -

The development objective of the Sao Paulo Feeder Roads Project for Brazil is to improve the efficiency of the paved municipal road network. Efficiency is to be improved... Show More + as a result of improvements to the institutional framework used by the Borrower in four key areas to deliver adequate transport conditions to users i.e. planning; environmental licensing; participation of private sector; and execution, combined with improvements in the condition of the paved municipal road network. The allocation is necessary for following reasons: (i) optimizing the use of the proceeds of the parent loan by distributing the unallocated amount between works, non-consultant services and consultant services in support to the state program of rehabilitation of municipal paved roads; and (ii) goods, non-consultant services, training and consultant services to support institutional strengthening activities mainly to the one of the beneficiary entities, the State Secretariat of Transport. There are no outstanding audits. Show Less -

The development objective of the Third, fourth, and fifth Phase of Rio Grande do Sul Integrated Municipal Infrastructure Project (APL) is to strengthen the capacity... Show More + of the municipalities of Bage, Pelotas, Rio Grande, Santa Maria and Uruguaiana to provide selected infrastructure services and employment opportunities for their population. The following factors are the main drivers of the restructurings: the Brazilian Real (BRL) has appreciated significantly against the United States Dollar (USD) since Project preparation, going from an average of BRL 2.2 for USD 1 at the time of appraisal/approval to an average exchange rate of BRL 1.77 since 2010, corresponding to the contracting and disbursement launch periods, there has been a significant increase in construction costs in Brazil, accompanying the scaling up of Federal Government's investment in infrastructure and economic growth, and there were also delays in initiating some activities related to the procurement processes and/or the finalization of the detailed designs. Show Less -

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 -

For many years, Rio de Janeiro has held the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s most beautiful cities, and at the same time, one of the most dangerous. This... Show More + report is the story of Rio’s attempt to break with history and establish a new kind of state presence in its favelas. This report documents how life in the favelas is changing as a result of the Police Pacification Unit (UPP) pacification effort, as seen through the eyes of favela residents themselves. This study used a qualitative, case-study approach and consisted of observations, focus groups, and key informant interviews in four favelas. The study fits into the broader territorial approach to urban and social development that the World Bank has been supporting in both the state and city of Rio de Janeiro, and for which the historical alliance between federal, state and municipal governments in Rio has been crucial. These projects have focused on strengthening planning and management of urban growth in the metropolitan region, promoting the provision of affordable housing with access to infrastructure and service, and supporting the implementation of a targeted, comprehensive social development program for the urban poor. Under the social development agenda, the Bank has been providing support to Social UPP since its design stage, in 2010, through technical assistance services to strengthen social governance and territorially-based monitoring and evaluation. 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 Alto Solimoes Basic Services and Sustainable Development Project for Brazil is to: (i) raise incomes, (ii) increase access to potable water and... Show More + basic sanitation; and (iii) improve health outcomes. The extension is necessary to complete ongoing civil works in the Water Supply and Health components in the municipalities of Tabatinga, Benjamin-Constant, and Atalia do Norte, as well as ongoing community-based productive sub-projects in the nine municipalities of the Alto-Solimoes region. As of June 21, 2012, the project has disbursed US$19.27 million of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) resources, i.e. 79 percent of the loan. All remaining resources are committed, mostly for ongoing civil works in the water supply component. Consequently, the Borrower's action plan to complete the project is to complete the civil works and the community-based sub-projects that are already underway. The Procurement and FM ratings for the Project are satisfactory. The Borrower also intends to request an additional financing to continue project activities and consolidate its achievements. The additional financing is currently being discussed in light of the Bank's current lending envelope for Brazil. This will be the first extension of the project. Show Less -

Ratings for the Brasilia Environmentally Sustainable Project for Brazil were as follows: outcomes were unsatisfactory; risk to development outcome was substantial; Bank... Show More + performance was moderately unsatisfactory and borrower performance was unsatisfactory. Some lessons learned includes: as part of project preparation, more emphasis should be put on assessing institutional capacity and designing arrangements and mitigation measures to carry out resettlement. Urban upgrading projects are best managed by one agency with delegated authority for all activities within the target area. The presence of an effective grievance redress mechanism is critical to improve development impact by minimizing potential impact on beneficiaries especially in cases of resettlement. The construction of resettlement housing should be prioritized in the chronogram of major works and under the control of the implementing agency. Resettlement options should enable choice differentiated resettlement solutions, and open and frequent consultation with affected families is essential. Resettlement activities must be closely linked to the control of new irregular settlements. The Bank's safeguards policy is not always easy to implement in middle income countries that have their own policies which do not necessarily coincide with the Bank's. Although an integrated approach to environmental sanitation is considered good practice, it may be too complex for some clients. The assessment of political economy issues should be a key part of the preparation in complex/integrated development projects. Show Less -