TheInfrastructure Action Plansets out a series of measures to revitalize the Bank Group’s infrastructure business.  As part of this plan, six sets of guidance notes on public-private sector roles in the various areas of infrastructure were prepared. A cross-sectoral note was also prepared. They are designed to provide guidance to World Bank Group staff and clients on assessing the suitability of available options for public-private roles in the different infrastructure sectors. These notes caution against prescriptive, one-size-fits-all recommendations, recognizing the variations in context across the Bank’s client countries.  The guidance notes link the different public-private models with appropriate World Bank Group instruments, including project specific, sector-wide and broader interventions.

Guidance Notes have been published for the following sectors:

• Electricity: Public and Private Sector Roles in the Supply of Electricity Services
• Water: Public and Private Sector Roles in Water Supply and Sanitation Services
• Transport: Public and Private Sector Roles in the Supply of Transport Infrastructure and Services 
  • Air Transport Infrastructure: The Roles of the Public and Private Sector
• ICT: Public and Private Sector Roles in the Information and Communication Infrastructure Sector 
• Gas: Public and Private Sector Roles in the Supply of Gas Services in Developing Countries

Complementing the above sectoral notes, a cross-sectoral notewas prepared to provide guidance on the specific issue of whether infrastructure should be financed and/or managed by the public sector alone or by involving the private sector in some fashion. The aim is to indicate how an appropriate solution can be found based on economic reasoning and an assessment of institutional arrangements in individual countries.

Click here to download the cross-sectoral note