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Summary of the World Bank Infrastructure Prioritization Framework Pilot in Panama

Core Content

This report outlines the World Bank's Infrastructure Prioritization Framework (IPF) and its pilot application in Panama, focusing on transport and water and sanitation projects. The IPF is a systematic, transparent, and data-driven approach to infrastructure prioritization that integrates financial-economic and social-environmental factors into decision-making. It aims to help governments make informed, efficient, and equitable infrastructure investment choices, particularly in the face of limited resources and competing priorities.

The pilot was conducted in 2015 by the World Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama, with the goal of improving infrastructure planning and prioritization at the national and sectoral levels. It involved the selection of 19 transport and 35 water and sanitation projects for analysis, and it demonstrated how the IPF can be adapted to reflect national policy goals, sector-specific needs, and institutional capacities.

Main Views

• Infrastructure is a key driver of economic and social development in Panama. It is central to the Government Strategic Plan 2015–2019, which aims to enhance social equity, life standards, and sustainable economic growth.
• Resource constraints are a major challenge in infrastructure planning, as the country faces a significant gap between required and available investments. This necessitates a strategic and data-driven prioritization process.
• Decentralization has increased the number of infrastructure proposals, but centralized budget allocation remains the norm. This highlights the need for structured prioritization to ensure alignment with national objectives.
• The IPF is not a replacement for traditional planning but serves as a catalyst for better data collection and analysis, enabling more rigorous social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA).
• Political and social considerations are essential in infrastructure prioritization, as certain projects may be valued more for non-economic reasons, such as social cohesion, cultural preservation, or election promises.

Key Information

Infrastructure Prioritization in Panama

• Panama's Government Strategic Plan 2015–2019 emphasizes systematic prioritization of public investments and the inclusion of social and environmental indicators.
• The Five-Year Investment Plan allocates resources to various government entities, including the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Health, and the National Water and Sewerage Institute (IDAAN).
• The Strategic Plan allocates approximately US$19.5 billion over five years, with 15.2% for transport and 18.9% for water and sanitation.

Transport Sector

• Roads are identified as Panama's weakest link in trade infrastructure, despite strong performance in ports and air transport.
• Panama ranks 44th in road infrastructure quality, with low road density in Central America.
• Improving road infrastructure is critical for regional integration and trade connectivity, as logistics costs can be as high as 50% of the final price of traded goods.
• The 19 transport projects analyzed are part of the broader effort to enhance connectivity and support economic growth.

Water and Sanitation Sector

• Three government bodies are involved: Ministry of Health (DISAPAS), IDAAN, and ASEP.
• 94% of the population has access to improved water sources, but only 73% has access to improved sanitation.
• Poverty and access are concentrated in comarcas (indigenous areas), where infrastructure is particularly lacking.
• The water and sanitation projects (35 in total) are critical for improving health outcomes, especially in rural and indigenous communities.

The IPF Framework

• The IPF is a quantitative approach that combines social-environmental and financial-economic indicators to evaluate projects.
• It is transparent, objective, and flexible, allowing for deliberation on policy and political considerations.
• The framework includes two types of indicators:
  • Social-Environmental Indicators (SEI): Number of beneficiaries, jobs created, poverty, and environmental impact.
  • Financial-Economic Indicators (FEI): Internal rate of return (IRR), multiplier effects, externalities, and implementation risks.
• The SEI and FEI are used to rank projects and compare investment scenarios visually.

Adjustments to the IPF in the Panama Pilot

• Several indicators were adjusted to better reflect project efficiency and policy goals.
• The "number affected" and "environmental footprint" were removed from SEI due to data unavailability and imprecision.
• For transport projects, SEI variables were adjusted for project size, expressed as beneficiaries and jobs per dollar.
• For water projects, absolute numbers of poor were used instead of poverty ratios to avoid biasing urban projects.
• The FEI was simplified to benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) due to insufficient data and imprecise IRR calculations.

Data Collection and Analysis

• A team of six local consultants gathered and transformed data for the 54 projects analyzed.
• Data was collected and entered into an Excel-based system, which was used to calculate social-environmental and financial-economic scores.
• The data entry form and populated data table (for water and sanitation) are provided as examples in the annexes.

Implementation and Recommendations

• The IPF was implemented in five steps: identifying criteria, gathering data, calculating indices, plotting projects, and selecting based on the results.
• The pilot demonstrated the feasibility of using the IPF in a real-world setting and highlighted the need for improved data collection and institutional capacity building.
• Recommendations include:
  • Institutionalizing the IPF for wider application.
  • Enhancing data availability and quality.
  • Training personnel to use the framework effectively.
  • Ensuring policy alignment with the framework’s indicators.

Conclusion

The IPF provides a practical and comprehensive tool for infrastructure prioritization, balancing technical analysis with policy and political responsiveness. Its pilot in Panama showcased the importance of adjusting indicators to reflect sector-specific needs and data limitations, while also highlighting the potential for improving infrastructure planning and decision-making. The framework supports evidence-based investment, ensuring that resources are allocated efficiently and equitably.