Understanding What is at Stake

At a Glance

  • Before selecting a strategy for sharing the use of transport infrastructure, players involved and their particular interests, as well as the conditions of current national infrastructure. 

  • A review of extractive project proposals, as well as passenger and cargo forecasts, can help assess what’s at stake.

  • Any significant item of extractive-related transport infrastructure might involve a variety of stakeholders, including: the lead extractive company with the anchor project, other extractive companies interested in sharing access, third-party users interested in multi-purpose access (which may require access fees), financiers, and regulators, among others.

  • In-depth consultation with all the stakeholders involved in a potential or existing infrastructure project will go far toward ensuring the success of a plan to share the infrastructure’s use.

Key Resources

Topic Briefing

For policy makers considering a plan to share extractive-focused transport infrastructure, the first step is to determine the importance of potential transport infrastructure investments and compare these to existing national and regional transport infrastructure and future plans. Project proposals, as well as passenger and cargo throughput projections can help their assessment of what’s potentially at stake.

Read more

A government would do well to get a thorough overview of the players involved and their associated interests before deciding on a strategy to share the use of transport infrastructure. For a cross-border railway line, for example, there are likely to be a range of actors to consult with, including:

  • The lead extractive company with the anchor project, which is likely to prefer sole access to the line if it is going to pay for the investment.
  • Other extractive companies interested in multi-user access but wary of the lead company operating the railway line and excluding them.
  • Third-party users interested in multi-purpose access that may require cross-subsidized access fees.
  • Financiers, who will likely prefer a single-user model if the extractive company with the anchor project is internationally renowned and has a strong balance sheet.
  • The neighboring country’s government, which may require transit fees and would also like access to the railway line to promote economic development.

Divergent interests within government The Ministry of Finance, for example, may be interested in maximizing the revenues from the extractive sector, whereas the Ministry of Transport may want to promote infrastructure access in general.

Involving more players means that it will become more expensive and complicated to negotiate the project, leading to potential delays. See the subtopic Opportunity Assessment which covers the advantages and disadvantages of shared use.