Infrastructure

At a Glance

Reliable infrastructure is a key determinant of an enabling environment for current and potential local suppliers.
A lack of reliable infrastructure, along with high user costs, can undermine well-planned efforts to build local business capacity.
Governments may engage in regular consultation with both current and potential suppliers, as well as extractive companies, to identify infrastructure-based obstacles and opportunities.
Shared infrastructure projects with extractive companies should be pursued where possible, but on terms that are carefully viewed, with an eye toward long-term sustainability.

Case Studies

Increasing Domestic Procurement by the Mining Sector in Central Asia (Bruce Coyne, Ana Maria Esteves, Vera Ogorodnikova, Cyrille Putz)

Key Resources

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Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs

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Backward Linkages (Supplying Extractives)

Backward Linkages (Supplying Extractives) Enabling Environments for Suppliers Infrastructure

This report offers quantitative indicators of the status of business regulation, the protection of property rights, and the overall business ...

Increasing Domestic Procurement by the Mining Sector in Central Asia

This resource is found in

Backward Linkages (Supplying Extractives) Enabling Environments for Suppliers

Backward Linkages (Supplying Extractives) Enabling Environments for Suppliers Infrastructure

This report provides case studies on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and highlights how they are utilizing the mining sector as an ...

Topic Briefing

The availability of reliable infrastructure – at reasonable rates or user fees where appropriate - is a key determinant of the enabling environment for current and potential suppliers of extractive companies. This includes roads, rail, water, electricity, and information and communications technology (ICT). Poor availability and reliability of infrastructure, and very high user costs can undermine well planned efforts to build local business capacity. The availability of infrastructure can be particularly challenging for businesses operating near remote extractive projects, which usually are not well integrated in a country’s overall infrastructure.

Governments have various tools to measure infrastructure quality to gain a broad understanding of where poor infrastructure may pose a challenge to firms trying to supply extractive industry activity. The links below rank countries’ infrastructure based on data published by the World Bank and World Economic Forum, among others:

To access the most recent data on infrastructure quality rankings by the World Economic Forum see the latest Global Competitiveness Index.

For more information on ICT global facts and figures, see the most Facts and Figures Report by the International Telecommunications Union.

Governments would do well to engage in regular consultation with current and potential suppliers and extractive companies to identify infrastructure-based obstacles and opportunities. Where possible, shared infrastructure projects with extractive companies may be pursued. But these need to be carefully reviewed, based on a cost-benefit analysis and also the long-term prospects of their sustainability. For more information on how to share the use of extractive-related infrastructure, see the Shared Use of Extractives Infrastructure and Resource Corridors topic and subtopics.