Project Name. PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: AB2890 TIR - Transport Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project

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1 Project Name PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: AB2890 TIR - Transport Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project Region EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Sector Roads and highways (70%);Railways (30%) Project ID P Borrower(s) MINISTRY OF FINANCE, GVNMT OF POLAND Implementing Agency Ministry of Finance 12 Swietokrzyska Str. Poland Tel: Fax: agr@mofnet.gov.pl Ministry of Transport ul.chalubinskiego 4/6 Poland tbochenski@mtib.gov.pl Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared February 16, 2007 Date of Appraisal March 7, 2007 Authorization Date of Board Approval June 7, 2007 Country and Sector Background 1. The consultations for the Bank s Annual Business Plan (ABP) in Poland for 2007 confirmed the continued relevance of the strategic framework and the three key priorities mentioned above for the Bank s work in Poland: (i) promote fiscal adjustment and reverse negative debt dynamics through restructuring of expenditures; (ii) promote convergence with the EU through an improved investment climate and enhanced competitiveness; and (iii) reduce poverty, encourage social inclusion and bring employment closer to the Lisbon targets. 2. The Government has expressed its satisfaction with the Bank s close involvement in Poland s successful road infrastructure improvement program over the past years, and wishes to continue to borrow resources from the Bank in order to help financing an intensified road and now also rail infrastructure improvement program over the next years. 3. The proposed Transport Infrastructure Rehabilitation (TIR) Project, like its predecessors (the series of three Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Projects - RM&R), responds to the priority of Convergence and Competitiveness mentioned in the CPS, by further reducing the gap which still exists between the quality of road and rail infrastructure in Poland and that in the EU countries. It will also improve Poland s economic climate in general, its competitiveness, its

2 access to global markets and it will foster the further development of the local construction industry. It will also help leverage larger financing particularly from the EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Objectives 4. The general objectives of railway and roads rehabilitation programs supported by the project will be the following: (i) increased benefits to roads and railways users through improved main Polish national road and rail infrastructure and (ii) improved institutional capacity of Polish railway and road sector institutions to manage their network assets efficiently and effectively. 5. For the road sector the project development objective remains similar to the one stated in the previous RM&R projects, i.e. improving the effectiveness of Poland s national road rehabilitation and maintenance systems, with emphasis on quality, efficiency, financial viability, safety, and road user satisfaction by contributing to roads rehabilitation program and supporting capacity of road administration (GDDKiA) to mange roads assets effectively 6. For the railways sector the project development objective will be: improving competitiveness of railway infrastructure manager (PLK) by removing bottlenecks affecting some selected railway lines of primarily freight transport importance to allow for faster and safer railway transport. Rationale for Bank Involvement 7. When Poland joined the European Union on May 1 st, 2004, it was clear that investments in transport infrastructure would be needed over at least a decade in order to bring the country s road and rail networks, and its ports and airports, to a level comparable with other EU members countries. The Government of Poland saw complementary role in this process for the World Bank for its knowledge, expertise and experience in the transport infrastructure sector. The subsequent strong involvement of the Bank in Poland s roads sector in was instrumental in setting up a solid road rehabilitation program for the national road network, which in turn made it possible to attract substantial additional financing. The World Bank has thus played the role of technical advisor, provider of funds and as a catalyst for mobilizing additional financing. Today, in early 2007, the Government considers that Poland could benefit from World Bank continued to play this role, expanding its involvement from roads and ports into the rehabilitation of rail infrastructure. Description 8. The US$515.5 million worth program includes three components: (i) Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation program (Total: US$447.3 million, WB support: US$ million); (i) Railway Sector Revitalization program (US$64.3 million); and (iii) Institutional TA and training (Total: US$3.9 million, WB support: US$ 2.5 million). 9. Component A: Road Rehabilitation The national budget funds will be pooled with other resources available to the budget and used for co-financing over 100 contracts aimed at 2

3 reducing the existing road maintenance backlog. It will include Road Safety Improvement subcomponent focusing on a new initiative aimed at increasing road safety along the National Road No.8 which links the Czech Republic to the Baltic States across Poland will be implemented. 10. Component B: The railway revitalization program (100% financed by World Bank) will finance track renewal on some designated sections of important freight lines including: replacement of rails, turnouts, sleepers, ballast, and any others items which need changing or repairing. 11. Component C: Institutional Technical Assistance (around 65% financed by World Bank) will: support development of Management Information system in National Road Administration (GDDKiA), assist Railway Infrastructure Company (PLK) in preparation of a medium-term Business Plan and provide institutional technical assistance and training for the Ministry of Transport. Financing Source: m. (US$m) Borrower (320.5) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (195.0) Total (515.5) Implementation 12. TIR project will follow the management and implementation arrangements successfully used under the RM&R projects. The Polish Ministry of Transport will act as the Project Coordination Unit (PCU) and will be responsible for overall project management, oversight and coordination, in close cooperation with the staff of General Directorate of Public Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) and Polish Railway Lines Company (PLK). The latter two will be the final project beneficiaries for the respective road and railways components. MoT will be the final beneficiary of some technical assistance projects and will manage the related procurement packages. Sustainability 13. In a medium and long-run, sustainability of road and railway assets in Poland after completion of the current program of reducing maintenance backlog is likely. This will result directly from the increased emphasis on allocating available funds for regular maintenance to augment serious network modernization as well as increasing the use of modern computerized asset management systems for both the roads and the railways sectors which allow prioritizing the investment and rehabilitation programs on an annual basis under possible budget constraints. Further to maintain the core national network in a satisfactory condition, modern asset management techniques allow maximizing the impact of transport services on economic growth whilst minimizing the cost for the society. 3

4 Lessons Learned from Past Operations in the Country/Sector 14. A major lesson learned over the past three years related to the project design is how to combine the use of Poland s country systems with the Bank s fiduciary and safeguards requirements. In order to keep the transaction costs low for both the World Bank and the Government of Poland, and improve capacity of the beneficiary institutions to utilize loan proceeds promptly it was agreed that: (i) the implementation of the rehabilitation components of the project (Components A and B) comprising relatively simple and small works contracts will essentially follow Poland s procurement system by agreeing to use National Competitive Bidding procedures for such contracts; and (ii) the Bank proceedings will be pooled with regular budget resources for the respective sectors. Additionally the project scope and design takes account of the general compliance of the Polish legal system with the Bank safeguards. The past experience with such approach in road sector has been judged positive by the Government and the World Bank as it allows speeding up significantly both procurement and disbursement processes without compromising compliance with World Bank fiduciary and safeguards requirements. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation) Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) [X] [ ] Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) [X] [ ] Pest Management (OP 4.09) [ ] [X] Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) [ ] [X] Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) [ ] [X] Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) [ ] [X] Forests (OP/BP 4.36) [ ] [X] Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) [ ] [X] Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) [ ] [X] Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) [ ] [X] Contact point Contact: Radoslaw Czapski Title: Project Manager Tel: (Sat: ) Fax: (Sat: ) rczapski@worldbank.org Location: Warsaw, Poland (IBRD) For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C Telephone: (202) Fax: (202)

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