The World Bank Central African Backbone - APL4 - Gabon (P122776)

Transcription

1 Public Disclosure Authorized AFRICA Africa Global Information/Communications Technology Global Practice IBRD/IDA Adaptable Program Loan FY 2012 Seq No: 8 ARCHIVED on 16-Jun-2015 ISR19741 Implementing Agencies: Public Disclosure Authorized Key Dates Key Project Dates Board Approval date:28-mar-2012 Planned Mid Term Review Date:31-Oct-2014 Original Closing Date:31-Dec-2016 Project Development Objectives Effectiveness Date:06-Mar-2013 Actual Mid-Term Review Date:30-Jan-2015 Revised Closing Date:31-Dec-2016 Public Disclosure Authorized Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The development objective of the project is consistent with the PDO for the CAB Program: To contribute to increasegeographical reach and usage of regional broadband network services and reduce their prices in the territory of the Republic ofgabon. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No PHRPDODEL Components Name Component 1 - Enabling environment:(cost $6.07 M) Public Disclosure Authorized Component 2 - Connectivity:(Cost $47.00 M) Component 3 - Project Management:(Cost $2.93 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial 6/16/2015 Page 1 of 10

2 Implementation Status and Key Decisions This ISR (sequence 8) is based on Mid Term Review supervision mission conducted in Gabon from January 30 till February 7, Major milestones in project implementation have been achieved since the February 2015 mission. The contract with the private wholesale operator (Axione Bouygues of France) was signed on March 30, Following the notification on April 9, 2015 that all disbursement conditions were lifted, national Backbone works - passive infrastructure have also started (contract awarded to CCSI of China, with control and monitoring undertaken by SFM Technologies of Tunisia) and the first disbursement was made on May 28, The Gabonese authorities have drafted the two Ministerial decrees authorizing the wholesale operator to commercialize in Gabon and approving the wholesale contract and approval in Council of Ministers is expected by End of June The Internet Exchange Point (GabIXP) is also operational since December Activities pertaining to the set-up of the ACE subsidiary have made good progress as well, as the statutory documents and the ACE agreement have been drafted and approval/signature is expected by End of June. Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding on the CAB4(Gabon)-CAB3(Congo) cross border fiber interconnection signed on February 6, 2014 in Brazzaville, bidding documents for the backbone works under CAB4 and under CAB3 have been made consistent with each other to ensure that the fibers to be built in Gabon and in Congo will effectively connect in Lekoko (border Gabon-Congo) and the teams in Gabon and Congo are progressing towards this objective at comparable pace. There was some progress on the counterpart funds during the Mid Term Review mission as the Gabonese authorities expressed their willingness to use refinancing for "Category (2) Consortium Fee" (ACE payment of $5.64) to make available the counterpart funding; at the request of the GoG, the Bank provided guidance on the process to be followed to request refinancing to be paid on the CAB4 project account opened by the GoG at Caisse des Dépôts et des Consignations (CDC)). The Bank will continue to closely monitor the availability of the counterpart funds with GoG. Disbursement rate reached 18% at the end of May 2015 following the first disbursement for the national Backbone works - passive infrastructure on May 28, There is a risk highlighted in the MTR report prepared by the GoG that delays may be incurred in passive infrastructure works and installation of active equipment. Detailed update on these activities will be provided after the next supervision mission (which will include site visits) scheduled in September/October 2015 as well as an assessment of the need for an extension of the project closing date. Based on the progress, the project is assessed to be on track to achieve the Project Development Objective by the end of the project. The Project Development Objective Indicators and the Intermediate Results Indicators have been updated with the data as of December 30, The Mid Term Review concluded that the project remains highly relevant to contribute to increase geographical reach and usage of regional broadband network services and reduce their prices in the territory of the Republic of Gabon. The efficiency of the project is rated good given the major milestones achieved (setting up of the Public Private Partnership, launch of the Internet Exchange Point (GabIXP) and of the national Backbone works - passive infrastructure) and the strong buy in from public and private stakeholders as well as from the population (thanks to good media coverage since the early stages of the project). The efficacy is considered to be satisfactory, based on the disbursement rate of the different components as well as on the ratings for the activities performed by the Project Implementation Unit (financial management, project management, procurement, monitoring and evaluation, safeguards) despite the difficulties with the counterpart funds. 6/16/2015 Page 2 of 10

3 Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance -- Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic -- Moderate Moderate Sector Strategies and Policies -- Moderate Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program -- Moderate Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability -- Moderate Moderate Fiduciary -- Moderate Moderate Environment and Social -- Moderate Moderate 6/16/2015 Page 3 of 10

4 Stakeholders -- Moderate Moderate Other -- Moderate Moderate Overall -- Substantial Substantial Results Project Development Objective Indicators International Internet Bandwidth (Bits per second per person) (Number, Custom) Value The indicator is close to forecast (12086). Whilst the Gabonese authorities authorized technical experimentations on the ACE landing station ahead of the selection of the wholesale operator, Gabon Telecom also upgraded the capacity on the existing SAT3 landing station which provided sufficient international internet bandwidth to cope with increased access to Internet Services. With the start of the commercial activities of the wholesale operator (signature of the contract with the wholesale operator for the new ACE connectivity on March 30, 2015), this indicator is expected to be on track with End target. Access to Internet Services (number of subscribers per 100 people) (Number, Core) Value The indicator is far above forecast (24). The real need for Internet in Gabon described in the PAD has been addressed by a sound competitive dynamic both in the mobile broadband market (3G/4G licenses awarded in March 2014 to both Airtel Gabon and Gabon Telecom/Moov) and in the fixed broadband market (between Gabon Telecom/Moov and independent Internet Service Providers) fuelled by anticipation of the new ACE connectivity (Gabonese authorities authorized technical experimentations on the ACE landing station ahead of the selection of the wholesale operator). Access to Telephone Services (fixed mainlines plus cellular phones per 100 people) (Number, Core) 6/16/2015 Page 4 of 10

5 Value Operators have cleaned up their client base from inactive customers at the end of the calendar year, but not as much as anticipated. Furthermore, the registration of all SIM card owners by the Gabonese mobile operators has taken place till End of March 2015 (against till End 2012 as anticipated during project preparation). It is expected that the combination of the upcoming clean-up of client databases following the consolidation of Gabon Telecom/Moov and the completion of the identification of SIM card holders will be associated with a sharp decrease in the number of mobile cellular subscriptions before the end of the project. Average monthly price of wholesale international E1 capacity link from capital city to Europe (US$/ month/2mbps) (Number, Custom) Value Price as of End of December 2014 is lagging behind forecast (1000) because the wholesale operator has not yet started its commercial activities (signature of the contract with the wholesale operator for the new ACE connectivity on March 30, 2015). Price is based only on existing SAT3 connectivity. Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Core) Value Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Core Supplement) Value /16/2015 Page 5 of 10

6 Overall Intermediate Results Indicators Impact on Telecom sector of World Bank Technical Assistance (composite score: 1- low impact to 5-high impact) (Number, Core) Value Value of indicator as of End of December 2014 is close to forecast (2) a) Making the legal and regulatory framework more effective at delivering sector performance => 2 Low-Medium Impact (2) through completion of 2 studies on key regulatory priorities (Study on key regulatory tools for broadband market and action plan ; Development of cost models for interconnection (fixed and mobile) and for broadband wholesale offers) and the Feasibility study to set up an Internet Exchange Point (IXP)). b) Improving the capacity of the regulatory institution(s) to deliver on their mandate(s) => 2 Low-Medium Impact (2) through completion of specific training of the regulatory authority as part of two studies on key regulatory priorities (Study on key regulatory tools for broadband market and action plan ; Development of cost models for interconnection (fixed and mobile) and for broadband wholesale offers). c) Increasing the level of competition in the ICT sector => 2 Low-Medium Impact (2) as the authorities have managed to keep a sound competitive dynamic both in the mobile broadband market (3G/4G licenses awarded in March 2014 to both Airtel Gabon and Gabon Telecom/Moov) and in the fixed broadband market (between Gabon Telecom/Moov and independent Internet Service Providers). d) Improving the ICT policy environment in the country => 1 Low impact (1) so far due to delays in launching the two remaining key studies (Study on broadband stimulation strategies, launched March 25, 2015 ; review, improvement and development of (i) the telecoms and (ii) the information laws (cyber-security, privacy, etc), launched April 24, 2015). e) Reforming state-owned assets in the ICT sector => 1 Low impact (1) because the Private Public Partnership (PPP) for the new connectivity is in progress but not fully in place as of December 2014 (signature of the contract with the wholesale operator for the new ACE and Backbone connectivity on March 30, 2015). When the PPP will be fully in place, the impact on Reforming state-owned assets in the ICT sector will be set at high. Average cost of mobile call (three minutes, local, peak) (US$/3 min) (Number, Custom) Value Price as of End of December 2014 is close to forecast (0.4) indicating that there is a competitive mobile market. Following the consolidation of Gabon Telecom/Moov, there are now two leading operators (Airtel Gabon and Gabon Telecom/Moov) and a challenger (Azur Telecom). The Government of Gabon intends to conduct a study (financed by the CAB4 project) to assess whether Mobile Virtual Network Operators could contribute to keeping the market dynamic. 6/16/2015 Page 6 of 10

7 Retail Price of Internet Services (per Mbit/s per Month, in US$) (Amount(USD), Core) Value Price as of End of December 2014 is close to forecast (120.00) indicating that telecoms operators and Internet Service Providers have anticipated the availability of the new ACE connectivity (Gabonese authorities authorized technical experimentations on the ACE landing station ahead of the selection of the wholesale operator). In addition there is a sound competitive dynamic both in the mobile broadband market (3G/4G licenses awarded in March 2014 to both Airtel Gabon and Gabon Telecom/Moov) and in the fixed broadband market (between Gabon Telecom/Moov and independent Internet Service Providers). Number of operators and ISPs buying capacity from the regional infrastructure deployed (Number, Custom) Value As of End of December 2014, the wholesale operator has not yet started its commercial activities (signature of the contract with the wholesale operator for the new ACE connectivity on March 30, 2015). However technical experimentations were authorized by the Gabonese authorities to enable operators and ISPs to test the technical chain ahead of the selection of the wholesale operator. 6/16/2015 Page 7 of 10

8 International Communications (Internet, Telecoms and Data) bandwidth (Gbit/s) (Number, Custom) Value Date 31-Dec Jun Dec As of End of December 2014, the wholesale operator has not yet started its activities (signature of the contract with the wholesale operator for the new ACE connectivity on March 30, 2015). Whilst the Gabonese authorities authorized technical experimentations on the ACE landing station ahead of the selection of the wholesale operator, Gabon Telecom also upgraded the capacity on the existing SAT3 landing station. Length of Fiber Optic Network Built (km) (Kilometers, Core) Value National backbone works - passive infrastructure have started in April 2015 following completion of the Resettlement Plan. Increased access to ICT services: Number of localities with broadband Internet access (256Kbps) (Number, Custom) Value G/4G licenses were awarded to Airtel Gabon and Gabon Telecom/Moov in March 2014, which triggered an acceleration of the coverage of the main cities with mobile broadband anticipation of the availability of the new ACE connectivity, hence provided an increased access to ICT services then with the existing ADSL technology given the limited footprint of the fixed network it is relying upon. Overall Data on Financial Performance 6/16/2015 Page 8 of 10

9 Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed Disbursed P IBRD Effective USD % Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P IBRD Effective 28-Mar May Mar Dec Dec-2016 Cumulative Disbursements Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) 6/16/2015 Page 9 of 10

10 There are no related projects. 6/16/2015 Page 10 of 10