Rural Infrastructure in Georgia – Improving Service Delivery
Transport Unit, Sustainable Development Department
Europe and Central Asia Region, December 2006
Rural infrastructure in Georgia is at present in a precarious state and is not providing the services needed for the socio-economic development of the regions. The intention of this study’s findings is to enhance a wider dialogue between the Government, key stakeholders, and the general public on the development of a prospective Rural Infrastructure Strategy. The primary emphasis in this study is on physical infrastructure: roads, drinking water, irrigation and drainage, electricity supply and gas supply. In addition, the study focuses on those infrastructure types that had similar network and operational characteristics.
Volume I: Main Report
Any serious attempt to address the issues of the rural sector in Georgia will require the development of a comprehensive and coherent strategy, together with an action plan, for a program of rural infrastructure rehabilitation. The study aimed to answer the following research questions: (a) What are rural communities’ priorities with respect to infrastructure improvement investment?; (b) What are the key determinants of the sustainability of infrastructure rehabilitation?; (c) How do the community and local authorities evaluate the quality of infrastructure services and the condition of physical infrastructure?
The study has found that the severe degradation of the rural infrastructure networks imposes high economic and social costs on the rural population. It reveals that electricity supply, drinking water and roads/transport are the main priorities selected by majority of communities across the regions. The next steps for the development of the physical rural infrastructure in Georgia are proposed in this study.
Read More in English [pdf: 10.1MB]
Read More in Georgian [pdf: 8.93MB]
The study has developed the “Decision Matrix”, a ‘spreadsheet based’ multi-sectoral assessment tool, using data from the GIS database, and the community preferences of 100 communities to allow the prioritization of interventions in that sub-set of communities. The Decision Matrix is available as an Excel spreadsheet.
Decision Matrix [xls: 307KB]
Volume II: Annexes
The study has conducted a range of surveys across Georgia in order to address a number of issues:
- What is the coverage and condition of rural infrastructure?
- What are the community preferences in rural infrastructure?
- What is the household Willingness to Pay (WTP) for rural infrastructure?
- What is the estimated cost to rehabilitate the rural infrastructure networks?
The detailed description of the study approach, the sampling methodology, and the findings are provided in this volume as an annex to the main report.
Read More in English [pdf: 817kB]
Read More in Georgian [pdf: 830kB]
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