Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current State and Issues of the Electricity Sector in Iraq The long-term economic sanctions and conflicts had been devastating the economic and social environment of Iraq. However, after the Iraq War in 2003, the country is finally undergoing reconstruction and development with the support from the international society. The electricity sector is the foundation of various activities of the economy and society, and it is essential for the reconstruction of Iraq. However, due to years of lack of new investments/maintenance management and plunder, the functions in all sub-sectors, such as power generation, transmission, transformation, and distribution, have been extremely deteriorated until today. The average daily power supply which was 9,000 megawatts (MW) in 1990s was declined to lower than 3,000MW right after the Iraq War. After the war, with the support from international society, the Government of Iraq has been making effort for the reconstruction of the electricity sector as one of the priority areas. However, the power supply had recovered only up to 5,500MW as of 2009, while the average daily demand is 12,000MW, and long unplanned power outage are forced regularly accordingly. Thus the reconstruction of the electricity sector in Iraq, especially the improvement of power generation capacity, is one of the top priority issues.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current State and Issues of the Transport and Road Sector in Vietnam In Vietnam, road transport is the chief transport means: in 2011, 74.3% of cargo transport and 92.1% of passenger transport depend on road transport. In recent years, the traffic has been sharply increasing particularly on arterial roads connecting large cities and regional cities. In Hanoi City, with the high annual average economic growth rate of 9.2% (2008-2010), the number of road users travelling between the central part of the city and Noi Bai International Airport, the gateway in the north of the country, is expected to considerably increase. In 2011, the traffic volume (58,595PCU/day) exceeded the traffic capacity (42,000PCU/day) on the North Xxxxx Xxxx – Noi Bai Road, the existing major access from the central part of Hanoi to the airport. Since the number of people using Noi Bai International Airport and the transport demand to industrial complexes, etc. in the northern region are expected to increase, it is urgently necessary to build a new bridge connecting the central part of Hanoi and the northern region of the Red River and arterial roads in order to alleviate traffic congestion and streamline traffic functions.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current State and Issues of the Electricity Sector in Indonesia The peak demand for power in Indonesia nationwide in 2008 was 21,866 MW, and according to the Long Term Electricity Development Plan 2009-2018 (RUPTL), which was prepared by the national electricity company, PT. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) (hereinafter referred to as “PT. PLN”), the capacity of existing power supply facilities nationwide is 29,205 MW. This means that the reserve ratio for power supply facilities is 34%, which is below PLN’s target of 35%. According to the RUPTL, peak demand in the Sumatra System, where the project is located, was 3,089 MW in 2008, and as a consequence of increasing demands for electricity associated with economic growth, this is expected to increase at an average annual rate of about 8.9%, reaching 7,354 MW by 2018. On the other hand, the current generation capacity of the system was 3,760 MW in 2008, and if anticipated shutdowns of existing power plants due to obsolete facilities in the future are taken into account, the development of new generation capacity is an urgent issue for Indonesia.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current State and Problems with the Urban Transportation Sector in India With the recent rapid urbanization, the number of registered automobiles and scooters in India has risen dramatically over the years since FY 2002 with an average increase rate of about 8%. On the other hand, the improvement of public transportation infrastructures has not seen much progress, and its rate of use decreased from 69% in 1991 to 55% in 2001 and is expected to drop to 50% by 2021. In large cities such as Chennai, in particular, traffic congestion has become a serious problem as the result of increasing road transportation needs, causing economic loss and serious health damage due to air pollution, noise, and other pollution generated by automobiles. Thus, improvement of the public transportation system is necessary for reducing traffic congestion and improving the urban environment. The Chennai Metropolitan Region in the state of Tamil Nadu is the largest urban region in South India with the fourth largest population in the country. The population of the region rapidly grew from 4.5 million in 1981 to 7.06 million in 2001 and reached 8.7 million in 2011. The population density of the city of Chennai, the center of the region, is 25,000 people/km2, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The number of registered automobiles, which has been on a marked rise as the population has grown, more than doubled between 2001 and 2011. Thus, the average speed of vehicles on major roads in the city is only about 17 km/h, causing serious traffic congestion.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current States and Issues of the Health Sector in Bangladesh In the health sector in Bangladesh, various measures have been taken to promote maternal and child health. As a result, there has been improvement in some indicators of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): the infant mortality rate (declining from 92 in 1990 to 43 in 2011 (per 1,000 live births)); the under-five mortality rate (declining from 146 in 1990 to 53 in 2011(per 1,000 live births)); and the maternal mortality ratio (declining from 574 in 1990 to 194 in 2010 (per 100,000 live births)). However, the proportion of deliveries assisted by skilled birth attendants and the proportion of pregnant women who received ante-natal care (at least four visits) are still low, at 34.4% and 25% (as of 2013), respectively, compared to those of other South Asian countries. In order to achieve the targets on these indicators, Bangladesh needs to make further efforts to provide health, population, and nutrition services as well as promote the use of these services by increasing public awareness. In order to improve the delivery of these services, the country needs to integrate and strengthen the health system, from community level to tertiary level health facilities. The heath system is facing problems mainly due to the lack of health workforce constituting the basis of the health system. In particular, it is urgent to improve nursing services in quantity and quality. Moreover, the demand for medical care has been expanding in recent years, for non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers, have increased (accounting for 68% of the total deaths in Bangladesh) and external injuries. In fact, the number of outpatients visiting the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease has been growing rapidly (from 86,944 in 2002 to 174,366 in 2012). This shift in disease patterns was mainly caused by changes in diet and lifestyle, rapid urbanization, an increase in traffic accidents, and the spread of smoking habits. Public hospitals cannot provide adequate health services for early diagnosis and treatment. Especially, poor and socially vulnerable people have only limited access to timely medical care. Moreover, examination and treatment at private hospitals are very expensive, imposing a huge economic burden on patients.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current State and Issues on Development of the Railway Sector in Metro Manila and Mega Manila Being the largest economic center in the Philippines with a concentration of 13 percent of the country’s population and 36 percent of the GDP, Metro Manila has grown from 7.92 million people in 1990 to 11.85 million people in 2010, reaching a population density of 191.3 people per square hectare. In Mega Manila - the region encompassing Metro Manila along with neighboring three Provinces - the population has also increased rapidly over that period, rising from 12.93 million people in 1990 to 23.02 million people in 2010, a growth rate has been increasing in accordance with that of Metro Manila. The improvement of circumferential and radial roads and highways in Metro Manila that was proposed in the “The Study on Metro Manila Urban Transport Integration in the Republic of Philippines” in 1972 supported by JICA has shown a steady progress. However, the development of effective railway transportation still lags behind in general. Operation area of three Light railway transit remained in Metro Manila with their total length of only 50 kilometers. One non-electrified commuter line with a low service frequency that is operated by the Philippine National Railways (hereinafter referred to as “PNR”) is running about 28 kilometers from Tutuban in the City of Manila to Alabang in the City of Muntinlupa in Metro Manila southward, while railway in Metro Manila northward has not been developed. Moreover, the area from the central Metro Manila to Malolos in northward has grown its residential population without securing sufficient public transportation system. Residents of the area use highways, etc. by bus, jeepney, car and other transportation means for commuting to the central Metro Manila. However, due to traffic congestion on the way from around the City of Caloocan, the highway exit, to the center of Metro Manila, running speed of these vehicles has been limited to less than 30 km/hour all day which has caused a serious problem in commuting. As a result, the traffic congestion in Metro Manila worsens, hinders smooth freight transportation and people’s traveling, costing an estimated 2.4 trillion yen per year in social expenses thereby, and becomes factor that lower the international competitiveness of the Philippine economy. Therefore, to secure a large scale public transportation which connects northern and southern area of Mega Manila including Metro Manila has becom...
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current situation and issues of flood damage in the country In Sri Lanka, the heavy rain from December 2010 through February 2011 caused major damage, destroying infrastructure including roads and irrigation facilities in Central, North Central and Eastern Provinces. There were more than 1.2 million victims and 430,000 damaged buildings, ranking next to the tsunami damage of the Sumatra Earthquake in December 2004. The flash floods destroyed approximately 18,237km of roads and 1,752 agricultural and irrigation facilities, which blocked transportation access and impeded daily life in rural areas. The rice farming areas mainly in Eastern Province were severely damaged, and there is a concern of crop failure next year unless the irrigation facilities are rehabilitated in time to prevent water shortage in the dry season. According to the needs assessment for mid- and long-term rehabilitation of infrastructure conducted by the Department of National Planning in February – March 2011, rehabilitation from this flood damage will cost approximately 110 billion rupees. Unless road and irrigation facilities are urgently recovered, secondary damage is expected such as landslides. It will also increase food prices from next year on, and it is very likely to affect people’s standard of living and the country’s economy as a whole.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Development Record (Current State) and Challenges of the Beach Conservation Sector in Indonesia Indonesia is the largest island nation in the world, with the total length of its coastline reaching 99,000 km, and it is facing beach erosion in many places. Especially on Bali Island, where approx. 66% of its coastal area is used for tourism, there have been serious problems of deterioration of the coastal environment and landscape, and a negative impact on the coral reef ecosystem. These problems include beach erosion and disappearance of sand beaches due to the excavation of river sand for use as construction material, coral excavation, disorderly construction and sand beach renovation, in addition to expanded beach use accompanying the rapid tourism development seen since the 1970s. In recent years there has also been concern about the influence of a sea level rise and storm waves accompanying climate change on beach erosion and sand beach disappearance. Beach conservation is a pressing task also for the protection of assets in the hinterland of beaches and coastal disaster prevention to ensure the safety of resident areas. Because the beaches of Bali Island are used not only for tourism but also for recreation, religious rites and local residents’ livelihoods, special consideration for the landscape and environment is required when implementing a beach conservation project. Therefore, a combination of shoreline maintenance and optimum structures is appropriate for sand beach conservation and restoration as a method against beach erosion in Bali, which is a world-famous tourist destination. Meanwhile, beach improvement in Indonesia basically consists simply of seawalls, groins and other structures intended for protection, which makes it technically difficult to consider optimum plans combining beach nourishment and seacoast structures precisely designed based on analyses of drift sand and coastal landform changes. It is not common in Indonesia to design and implement beach nourishment/conservation projects based on adaptive management methods that include PDCA (Plan-Do- Check-Action) cycles necessary for operation and management (O&M) consisting of thorough beach monitoring that is especially needed after beach nourishment, evaluation/analysis, consideration of countermeasures and implementation. Technical challenges have surfaced, including a lack of knowledge and experience in adaptive management methods. There are also other challenges including an i...
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) Current State and Issues of the Forestry Sector in the Philippines At the start of the twentieth century, at least 70 percent (approximately 23 million hectares) of the Philippines was covered with forests, but by 1990, the country’s forest area decreased to about 22 percent (6.57 million hectares). This is due to large-scale commercial-based deforestation, and disorganized land use including slash and burn agriculture and excess logging by some poor communities to sustain their livelihood. This decrease in forest cover meant not only a decrease in forest resources, but led to disasters such as landslides and floods due to soil erosion and a decreased capacity of the country’s forests to retain water. Thus, the Philippines experiences floods on nearly an annual basis due to the annual average of 20 typhoons and rainstorms. Although forest cover in the country increased by 165,000ha from 1990 to 2010, it remains far below the forest rehabilitation target set by the government of the Philippines (300,000ha by 2010), and further forest rehabilitation and conservation is needed. Especially, in the mountainous region where the poverty rate is higher than other regions in the country, the decrease in forest cover due to disorganized land use including slash and burn agriculture by some poor communities to sustain their livelihood leads to landslides and draught, which in turn accelerate decrease in forest cover.
Background and Necessity of the Project. (1) State of Disaster and Issues Stemming from Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng On September 26, 2009, Tropical Storm Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) directly struck the Metro Manila and the neighboring Rizal Province, located in the central part of the Luzon Island. Ondoy brought an extraordinally rainfall event that statistically occurs once in 180 years, causing floods across an extensive area around the nation’s economic center. Then, for six days from October 3, 2009, Typhoon Pepeng (international name: Parma) directly struck the Philippines’s grain belt in the central and northern parts of Luzon Island. These storms and torrential rains caused flooding and landslides, inflicting tremendous damage to the area. Together, the two typhoons affected more than 9 million people, leaving 956 people dead, 736 injured and 84 missing (as of November 23, 2009). They resulted in human suffering of a severity rarely seen for typhoon damages. At the request of the Government of the Philippines, the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) conducted by the Government of the Philippines, the World Bank and other donors including JICA. According to the results of the PDNA, damage was sustained by the nation’s economic center, where about half of the population resides and which generates about 60% of the nation’s GDP, and it was estimated that the total amount of damage would reach 4,383 million dollars (equivalent to about 2.7% of GDP). Compared to recent disasters around the world, the economic damage and economic loss caused by these typhoons has been considerable. In terms of specific damage and specific needs, because the typhoons occurred just before the harvesting season, damage to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries has been considerable, and their needs for assistance is substantial. Furthermore, the damage to products and related materials that had been planned for production ahead of the Christmas season, and damage to production facilities has been extensive, and so financial assistance is especially required for small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, it has become evident that there are significant needs for the repair and reinforcement of houses partially or completely destroyed and for the construction of temporary housing, as well as significant needs for assistance targeting flood control facilities and transportation infrastructure. This damage is having a severe effect on the lives and economic activities of citizens, e...
