QII: Advancing Green, Resilient, Inclusive Development

Bangladesh: Green infrastructure to enhance the sustainability of Bangladesh's economic zones

This grant supports infrastructure investments to develop and pilot national guidelines for green and resilient economic zones in Bangladesh. It also improves the capacity of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority to prepare and manage the tendering of four critical green infrastructure projects. The activity leverages the World Bank’s Bangladesh Private Investment and Digital Entrepreneurship project and the Green and Resilient Industries to Enhance Competitiveness in Bangladesh activity, which is financed by the Japan-World Bank Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Developing Countries. Standard grant: $300,000.

Indonesia: Capacity building of local government institutions to develop and manage benefit-sharing schemes for geothermal energy

Indonesia is transitioning its power generation mix to achieve a lower carbon footprint by introducing renewable energy sources, including geothermal energy. A key initiative in this effort is the World Bank's ongoing Geothermal Energy Upstream Development Program (GEUDP). This grant aims to strengthen geothermal infrastructure governance through capacity building of local government institutions, develop a benefit-sharing program to contribute to the further development of geothermal energy in the country, and enhance the economic efficiency of the GEUDP. Standard grant: $300,000.

Indonesia: Capacity building to PLN to manage biodiversity and economic livelihoods to enhance development impact and sustainability of pumped storage hydropower project

The Indonesian government is committed to investing in energy storage systems that allow more renewable energy generation on the national grid. However, the Java-Bali transmission system cannot integrate significant variable renewable energy generation capacity because of capacity constraints. This activity aims to strengthen the capacity of PLN, the state power utility, to plan for and implement integrated catchment management and community forestry within Indonesia's hydropower project catchment areas. Standard grant: $300,000.

Maldives: Quality infrastructure investments to support the energy transition and net-zero commitment by 2030

The Maldives is heavily dependent on imported diesel fuel for electricity generation. QII grant activities support the government in strategizing and identifying specific investment requirements to scale up renewable energy. These activities will support the country's transition to renewable energy, structure the e-mobility framework, and other new and innovative approaches that complement the ongoing efforts to develop sustainable energy infrastructure under the World Bank's ARISE project, which aims to accelerate renewable and sustainable energy integration. Standard grant: $300.000.

Myanmar: Combined cycle gas turbine quality support

Myanmar's power supply has not kept up with fast-growing demand due to increased electrification and economic activity.  In the medium term, combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants are among the least-cost options to reduce dependency on emergency power. This grant aims to provide recommendations on the design and operation of new CCGT financed under the World Bank's Power System Efficiency and Resilience project. The activities financed by this grant ensure the procurement of high-quality, efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable CCGT equipment and provide virtual hands-on training to EPGE staff so they can handle similar procurement processes. JIT grant: $70,000.

Peru: Enhancing the quality of public electricity services to support post-COVID-19 recovery in selected regions

This grant supports the preparation phase and initial implementation of a World Bank project that aims to improve the quality and reliability of electricity services in selected urban and rural areas in Peru. The activities under the grant provide technical assistance and capacity-building support to the Ministry of Energy and Mines. This will help it address key electricity sector governance, regulatory, and capacity barriers to facilitate and accelerate the execution of critical electricity sub-transmission investments. Standard grant: $290,000.

Indonesia: State-owned enterprise governance reform

The government of Indonesia has launched a program of reforms of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to improve the efficiency of service delivery, use of public capita, positive impacts of SOEs on the economy, and to mobilize more private investment and capital. This activity identifies specific governance reforms to improve the efficiency of Indonesian SOEs, specifically those in the infrastructure sectors, to improve lifecycle costs, procurement effectiveness, asset management efficiency, and private capital mobilization. Analytical grant: $150,000.

Global: Capacity building on life-cycle costs in the procurement of infrastructure projects

This project builds practical knowledge in partner countries and within the World Bank on the use of life-cycle costing in the procurement of infrastructure projects. The grant strengthens the skills of procurement practitioners and Bank operations staff to address life-cycle costing in procurement to ensure value for money and the quality of infrastructure projects. The activity supports the Bank's 2016 Procurement Framework, which expands procurement and contracting options. Standard grant: $560,000.

Global: Infrastructure governance assessment pilots

Sustainable, affordable, and cost-efficient infrastructure services are a fundamental pillar of long-term development. However, evidence shows that weak governance arrangements around infrastructure decision-making and implementation impede such vital asset creation and operation. This study supports the delivery of up to six pilot infrastructure governance assessments in IDA countries—a policy commitment under IDA-19.  The study helps identify governance constraints to the development, financing, and delivery of quality infrastructure investments. Analytical grant: $420,000.

Global: Drivers of delays in procurement and contract implementation

This activity examines the reasons for delays in procurement and contract execution. Through a review of literature and analysis of a sample of about 100 infrastructure contracts, it identifies the main drivers of procurement and contract execution delays that cause cost and time overruns in capital infrastructure projects. It also explores whether projects following a Life Cycle Cost (LCC) approach are less prone to suffer cost and/or time overruns. Analytical grant: $195,000.

Global: Massive Open Online Course on QII

Infrastructure investment will feature as a key component of recovery packages in response to the economic shocks from COVID-19. This activity funds the development and delivery of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled "Investing in Quality Infrastructure for a Green, Inclusive and Resilient Recovery," to be launched in January 2022.  The MOOC explains the QII principles and how these can be operationalized and applied to infrastructure projects and programs in line with green, resilient, and inclusive development. Analytical grant: $150,000.

Bangladesh: Building stronger institutions for better transport sector governance

Numerous ministries and agencies are responsible for Bangladesh's transport sector, leading to overlapping mandates, capacity constraints, and problems with coordination. The sector suffers from weak governance and a lack of robust asset maintenance systems. This grant aims to strengthen road sector governance in Bangladesh, focusing specifically on road asset management and resilience. It supports the World Bank's Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement program, which aims to provide efficient, safe, and resilient connectivity along a section of a regional transport corridor in western Bangladesh. Standard grant: $300,000.

Ghana: Improving governance and economic efficiency in the transport sector

This grant supports the World Bank's Transport Sector Improvement Project (TSIP), which aims to reduce travel time on selected parts of the road network in northern Ghana, promote road safety, and strengthen the institutional management of the transport sector. QII activities include supporting the government with the TSIP recommendations, capacity building, and operationalizing the road asset management system. Expected results are improved institutional management of the transport sector and enhanced economic efficiency of the road network. Standard grant: $375,000.

Indonesia: Developing sustainable mass transit in Greater Bandung & Medan

The growing congestion in Indonesian cities affects their economic competitiveness. The adoption of sustainable urban mobility solutions is critical to breaking the negative trends of rapid motorization. This activity supports the preparation of sustainable mass transit investment projects in the Indonesian cities of Bandung and Medan by deploying international and local good practices in areas such as integration and terminal development, minibus reorganization, and fiscal and financial sustainability. It supports the rollout of the World Bank's Indonesian Mass Transit Program Support Project. Standard grant: $390,000.

India: Innovative asset recycling and whole-life asset management approaches

Through this QII grant, the World Bank is supporting the development of an innovative asset recycling model and whole-life asset management framework for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), thereby enabling it to fully leverage its monetization potential and become a role model in asset recycling. It also supports and catalyzes the Bank’s engagement with NHAI and helps leverage Bank resources to mobilize competitive private financing for NHAI’s brownfield toll roads asset base, which is expected to reach over 34,000 kilometers by FY25, almost triple its current size. Standard grant: $400,000.

Lao PDR: Maximizing benefits of public workfare programs work for the poorest

The poorest beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported Laos Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF) benefited less than less-poor beneficiaries, despite the program offering the same work to both groups. PRF aims to reduce poverty in Lao PDR through infrastructure improvements and increasing access to services and resources. The finding runs contrary to the program’s aim of helping the poorest households. The QII analytical grant examines (a) the reasons that households in the bottom 50th percentile households received fewer economic benefits from the project and (b) why women’s empowerment was weaker in that group. Analytical grant: $102,500.

Philippines: Advance efficient and high-quality public transport development in metropolitan Manila

Traffic congestion is a chronic problem in the greater metropolitan area of Manilla. This activity aims to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of the public transport system along the project corridor in metropolitan Manila in an environmentally sustainable manner. The grant finances the preparation of an interim bus service plan for the selected traffic corridor, a public transport business plan and service contract, and an interim public transport institutional plan. Standard grant: $450,000.

Bangladesh: Dhaka north neighborhood upgrading project

The objective of the grant is to provide technical support and capacity building to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) to enhance the quality and sustainability of infrastructure implemented under the project in three to four neighborhoods. In addition, the grant supports the operationalization and dissemination of the G20 QII Principles. Grant-funded activities will improve the ability of the DNCC to plan and manage investments in streets, sidewalks, and public spaces. Standard grant: $500,000.

India: Resilient urban mobility and spatial development in metropolitan Kolkata

The QII grant supports the development of a package of institutional, regulatory, and planning interventions aimed at achieving sustainable, economically productive urban development. These initiatives provide the government of West Bengal and the World Bank with additional climate-focused analysis that extends to the wider transport network while still contributing to enhancing the investments in inland water transport infrastructure under the project. These initiatives will make notable contributions towards the recovery from COVID-19 and Super Cyclone Amphan, which devastated the city in 2020.  Standard grant: $400,000.

Uzbekistan: Enhancing infrastructure quality, sustainability, and community participation in Uzbekistan’s Rural Infrastructure Development Project

This grant supports the implementation of the World Bank's Rural Infrastructure Development Project (RIDP) by strengthening the quality, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of infrastructure investments and building the capacity of the government's RIDP Project Implementing Unit, sub-national administrations, and local self-governing bodies for inclusive local development planning and oversight of investments. The activities are complementary in that the higher quality of infrastructure designs and stronger community participation in planning and oversight can contribute to the sustainability of infrastructure investments. Standard grant: $150,000.

Argentina: Nature-based solutions to increase the resilience of Buenos Aires

The grant supports the implementation of an ongoing World Bank project that addresses flood risk management in Buenos Aires. It incorporates green infrastructure, complementing the gray infrastructure supported by the Bank’s operation. The grant finances the nature-based solutions pilot by aligning its design and feasibility studies with QII Principles. These activities are helping integrate a holistic approach to urban water management, in particular for drainage and flood risk management, achieving cost-effective solutions that balance green and gray infrastructure and supporting sustainable growth and development. JIT grant: $70,000.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Development of a sustainable, performance-based sector financing policy for the water supply and sanitation sector

The water and sanitation sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina is underfunded and underperforming. The QII grant supports the development of a sustainable, performance-based financing policy for water supply and sanitation service providers in BiH. It supports the World Bank's Bosnia and Herzegovina Water and Sanitation Modernization project. Activities include a review of country priorities and financial flows in the water and sanitation sector, the development of a sector financing model, support for the establishment of a benchmarking system for water utilities, and a proposal for performance-based financing policy for the sector. Standard grant: $300,000.

Brazil: Green interventions in Belo Horizonte: urban upgrading and flood risk management

This grant supports the City of Belo Horizonte in the identification, preparation, and implementation of green, resilient and inclusive interventions to reduce risks of flooding and landslides. This development will allow the city to better adapt to the effects of climate change, particularly in vulnerable areas of the city including its informal settlements. Standard grant: $350,000.

Cambodia: Mainstreaming nature-based solutions in water supply development

Securing water is a challenge for Cambodian water utilities, especially during the dry season. Another problem is land and watershed degradation, which results from unsustainable agricultural practices or deforestation. This grant supports the government in mainstreaming nature-based solutions in water supply investment under the World Bank-financed Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project, which aims to increase access to piped water supply, improve sanitation services, and strengthen the operational performance of service providers in selected towns and communities. The grant also assesses the potential for applying nature-based solutions to strengthen the resilience of water supply investment in the face of climate change. Standard grant: $350,000.

Central African Republic: Improving infrastructure-based service delivery

This grant supports a World Bank project that aims to strengthen the management of the state-owned power and water utilities and increase the capacity of ministries to deliver PPPs. The activity enables the development of key strategies, operational policies, processes, and tools, as well as a robust training program for management, government counterparts, and other stakeholders to build their skills and capacities. This will enable the government and utilities to improve service delivery and enable private investments in infrastructure and service delivery. Standard grant: $600,000.

ECA: Preparation of green and gray infrastructure for a resilient and clean Black Sea

This grant supports the preparation of grey and green infrastructure investments in Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine to address rural, urban, and industrial pollution in the Black Sea. The project develops new infrastructure to treat pollutants such as insecticides, fungicides, antibiotics, drug compounds, hormones, and plastic compounds. The activity supports the World Bank's Bluing of the Black Sea program, which promotes regional collaboration to prevent pollution of the Black Sea and increases the social and economic benefits for the regional population. Standard grant: $300,000.

India: Modernizing water resources management and water-related disaster risk management through innovative tools in Assam

The objective of the activities under the QII grant is to support the government of Assam in building its capacity at the institutional, community, and individual levels to modernize flood and erosion management and adopt integrated basin planning and management through the development and application of innovative technologies and tools. The grant supports the World Bank's Assam Integrated River Basin Management Program, which aims to strengthen institutional capacity to improve integrated water resources planning and management and to build resilience to flood and erosion risks in Assam.  Standard grant: $320,000.

India: Real-time advisory services for water-stress risk management in smallholder farming systems

This grant supports the development of applications for predicting water stress and drought through high-resolution remote sensing information. These activities enable the use of cloud-penetrating microwave data combined with advanced soil moisture mapping and modeling to help farmers make informed decisions and reduce risks of crop failures while saving irrigation water. The grant also supports the development of a mobile and web-based digital advisory tool to enable experts, farmers, and extension agents to assess the impact of water stress and droughts, manage irrigation infrastructure, and mitigate adverse impacts. Standard grant: $325,000.

Turkey: Municipal services improvement project

This activity supports the identification, design, and pilot implementation of innovative priority water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure interventions at the individual, informal settlement/neighborhood level in low-income communities in Turkey to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable among refugee and host populations, have access to safely managed WASH facilities. The activities complement municipal investments financed under the World Bank Municipal Services Improvement Project (MSIP) project, which focuses inclusion of the most vulnerable in the project area. JIT grant: $70,000.

Uganda: Support to improve the economic efficiency of irrigation infrastructure

Uganda is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. Although it is endowed with abundant water resources, Uganda is experiencing erratic rainfall and an increase in the frequency and duration of droughts. Farmers are finding it increasingly challenging to decide when to plant. This activity facilitates the design of large-scale irrigation projects under the World Bank's Irrigation for Climate Resilience Project. The management model developed with the support of the grant will improve the sustainability of irrigation infrastructure constructed under the project and minimize operation and maintenance costs, making it more feasible for the framers to pay the water fees. Standard grant: $373,200.