Post Cold War: World Bank and CIS

The creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on December 21, 1991, was tasked with the burden of carrying on the reforms started by Gorbachev under the SovietUnion. The political and social pressures that were facing these new states were also coupled with the economic disaster under transition governments and economies. In order to create stability in the region, “the task of restructuring and reconstructing Eastern Europe [after the collapse of the Soviet Union] was taken up by private investors, by Western governments (in bilateral-assistance projects and some debt relief), and through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)” (Grieve 1992-1993). After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the World Bank and the IMF also turned their interest to the newly forming states and the rest of the developing world. Many of the loans provided by the World Bank and IMF provided assistance for economic and political liberalization, and the funding of social and transportation infrastructure projects.

Specifically for transportation planning, the discussion after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the “profound changes in economic and spatial policy have brought about a re-orientation in transportation with a clear focus on supply-driven mechanisms, in which the crucial role of the public sector is increasingly no longer taken for granted” (Nijkamp et al 1995). Although the World Bank does not financially support infrastructure projects at the level it did during the 1950s and 60s, the fiscal allocation for transportation projects in 2007 was 20% of the budget, with an additional 12% marked for water, sanitation, and flood protection. Regionally, 15% of the funds went to Europe and Central Asia. (World Bank 2009: Our Focus) According to the project documents available on the World Bank website, all CIS nations are receiving or have recently received project financing for transportation projects including financing for a highway in Azerbaijan and infrastructure retrofitting in Belarus. The World Bank has also put more focus into obtaining the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals, which calls for the elimination of extreme poverty by 2015 as well as universal education, lowering infant mortality rates, gender equality, maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and forging global partnerships. (UN 2009: Millennium Goals) The World Bank works most closely with the first half of the goals, which are related to development and the availability of social services. The ability for citizens to reach schools and health clinics is paramount in order for the development goals of poverty reduction and health to be truly achieved with sustainable results.