rural-urban dynamics_report.pdf - Khazar University

168 URBANIZATION AND THE MDGS GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT 2013
BOX 3A.2 The EBRD’s integrated approach to transition challenges in Almaty’s urban
transport sector
Fueled by a number of factors, including economic,
social, and structural changes in Kazakhstan over the
past decade, the population of Almaty, the country’s
largest city, has been steadily growing. This growth is
in large part a result of internal migration of the workforce
from rural areas. The population of Almaty is
expected to reach 1.6 million before 2015, up from 1.1
million in 2000. In the urban transport sector, population
growth has been punctuated by a steady rise in
private car usage, which subsequently led to a change
in Almaty’s transport pattern. The car fleet in circulation
increased from 218,000 in 2003 to 560,000 in
2011. Greater reliance on cars has increased road congestion,
and air quality in Almaty has been severely
affected by pollution from traffic, and in particular,
by emissions resulting from the use of low-quality
fuel, a badly maintained and outdated private car
fleet, and ever increasing congestion compounded by
insufficient road management. In general, there has
been an underinvestment in public transport solutions
and traffic and parking management; institutional
weaknesses and deficiencies in regulatory frameworks
have also been identified as issues detrimental to the
effective development of urban transport.
To address these complex challenges, the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) is pursuing an integrated approach to the
urban transport sector in Almaty involving investments
in target projects coupled with extensive
technical cooperation and policy dialogue activities.
Together, these activities aim at setting new standards
for service quality in public transport, establishing a
solid foundation for the introduction of a new regulatory
framework in the sector, and integrating private
operators into a single client-oriented system with significantly
improved service standards. To address the
growing traffic problems and increasing dependence
on private car usage, the EBRD’s investments aim at
increasing the capacity and standards of public transport
services as an alternative to car usage and providing
an overall balanced approach to urban mobility
with viable travel choices for users. The investment
projects include major investments in a modernized,
clean urban bus and trolleybus fleet to provide a cost
benchmark to the private sector. Finally, an integrated
e-ticketing system operated under a build-operatetransfer
concession will be implemented across all
public transport services to allow for network benefits
(that is, increased ridership spurred by free transport
modal transfers) to accrue to the operators.
The EBRD’s policy dialogue will focus on institutional
development of the sector in Almaty and will
include, among other activities, design and implementation
of a robust regulatory approach through
creation of a new urban transport authority; improvements
in the contractual agreements to enable financing
investments by private operators; and introduction
of an integrated electronic fare collection system.
In parallel, the EBRD’s efforts will be complemented
by assistance from the World Bank and the United
Nations Development Programme to support the city
in developing a computer-based traffic model, a new
comprehensive route scheme, and carbon emission
reduction assessment methodologies for the sector,
all of which will help to improve the functioning of
and benefits produced by the transport sector. It is
expected that the EBRD’s activities in urban transport
in Almaty, in close collaboration with other
international financial institutions, will contribute to
creating efficient and effective market mechanisms in
this sector and help mitigate negative consequences of
urbanization in Almaty.
strengthen the regulatory and institutional
framework (box 3A.2).
Inter-American Development
Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB) established an Emerging and Sustainable
Cities Initiative (ESCI) in 2011, since
urbanization is taking place at a very fast
pace in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Urbanization in the region rose from 62 percent
in 1980 to 81 percent in 2011, making
it the second most urbanized region in the
world. If this trend continues, in 20 years
90 percent or more of the region’s population
will be living in cities. Although megacities
are more prevalent in Latin America
than in developing countries in other regions,
it is now intermediate-size cities that are