Transport Infrastructure

Successful infrastructural development within the transport sector requires the full participation and motivation of the relevant national governments. A commitment of tax revenues is needed to succeed in developing countries, where money is often tight but where great opportunities exist for public-private partnerships.

Roads

Recent and independent studies by the likes of the World Health Organisation and the World Bank estimate that around 600,000 people lose their lives each year as a result of road accidents, with around 70 per cent taking place in the developing world.

While accident rates are reducing in the developed world, in the developing world things are worsening each day, and as diseases are brought under control (in relative terms) the significance of this only increases. Another problem with this is the relative difficulty in gaining access to this information, the lack of reporting facilities making it hard to keep track of all road accidents.

Railways

The development role of railways has been deemed a crucial factor, particularly with regard to bulk traffics - such as ores, minerals, building materials, oil products, grains, chemicals and steel - for the long distance transport of general freight and in some countries for the movement of traffic to and from ports. Railways also perform a valuable social role in many developing countries, with little other option for integration between various regions.

The efficiency and financial sustainability of the rail sector within the developing world has consequences for national budgets and a knock-on effect on other development areas such as healthcare and education.

Institutions such as the World Bank have done much to aid railway infrastructure within the developing world, seeking to make national railways more market-oriented, investing in areas where rail has a competitive advantage to contribute to economic development and growth. They have also considered the various different models for structure, ownership and competition across railway networks.

One of the major problems affecting railway infrastructures within the developing world is that many passenger railway networks cannot be fully financially self-supporting either as public or private sector companies. It has been identified that the key to success within the sector is the clear demonstration of commitment from operators and governments alike to efficiency and sustainability, to ensure the immediate and future success of the industry.

Air transport

Air transport has always played a vital role in issues in the developing world in the following fields:

• Transportation of goods
• Bringing tourists into the countries
• Providing employment opportunities

With the aviation sector, programmes like Change For Food have raised millions for UNICEF and other development agencies.

The key aspect of aviation in the developing world is that it makes global business possible, making travel more accessible. All of this serves to make the global village a reality and in turn the world a better.

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