From 2004 to 2008, SEGURA enabled USAID’s Europe & Eurasia Bureau and Missions to help understand and address serious regulatory and financial barriers to improving critical infrastructure needed for more effective service delivery. This included strengthening legal frameworks and relevant public sector institutions necessary for attracting investment and carrying out key infrastructure projects.

SEGURA’s support came in two primary forms: 1) providing the Europe & Eurasia Bureau with data and analysis to identify key trends and guide the Bureau’s programmatic development, and 2) supporting individual Missions with both analytical and implementation support, including through activity design and refinement. Through its strategic infrastructure support team, SEGURA was able to quickly and thoroughly assess key physical, political, and financial impediments in each Mission and suggest strategic interventions for USAID consideration. Select project interventions include:

  • Creation of infrastructure country reports with recommendations for each Mission focused on eliminating or avoiding infrastructure-focused bottlenecks to greater social and economic development. These reports included practical, cost-effective suggestions to leverage outside investment  in the energy, water, transport, and ICT sectors.

  • Development, monitoring and benchmarking of key indicators for infrastructure sectors in each country in the Western Balkans, including WASH (water utilities, wastewater utilities, solid waste), energy (electric, district heating, gas), transportation (road, rail, ports, airports, urban transport), and telecommunications/ICT.

  • Facilitation and assessment of infrastructure financing mechanisms, including revolving funds and bond banks (Kazakhstan) and pooled financing (Montenegro). SEGURA brought together delegations from multiple countries (Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Montenegro, Russia, and Ukraine) to consider how pooled financing facilities could help them to accelerate private sector investments in local infrastructure projects, and then provided country-specific recommendations.

  • Support for water supply and sewerage utility sector reforms in Montenegro, including development of the Water Utility Reform Plan and a Draft Law on the Organization and Provision of Water Supply and Wastewater Management Service.

Review of proposed public-private partnership (PPP) legislation in Ukraine, including the extent to which the legislation met international norms and standards and recommendations to strengthen and clarify the legislation.

Client:
USAID/Europe & Eurasia

Years:
2004-2008

Technical Areas:
Infrastructure & Environment

Region:
Europe & Eurasia

Location:
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Ukraine