cordially invite you to a panel discussion featuring a recent World Bank
publication
A Decade of Action in Transport
An Evaluation of World Bank Assistance to the Transport Sector, 1995-2005
by Peter Nigel Freeman
The World Bank committed over $30 billion to transport related projects during
the past decade, making it one of the largest sectors of Bank support. The
evaluation considers the Bank's performance over the last ten years, including
the encouragement of greater participation by the private sector, and the
improvement of infrastructure maintenance and accessibility for the poor. It
concludes with an assessment of the readiness of the Bank to meet future
challenges that include worsening traffic congestion, concern about vehicle
emissions - and possible implications for climate change - road accidents, and
improving the affordability and efficiency of public transport.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 from 12:00pm - 2:00pm
World Bank J Building - J1- 050 (701 18th St. NW corner of 18th St. and
Pennsylvania Ave.)
Presentation followed by Light Lunch Reception
Opening Remarks by
Vinod Thomas
Director-General Evaluation, World Bank
Vinod Thomas is Director-General, Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) for the
World Bank Group. He was formerly Country Director for Brazil. Prior to that,
he was Vice President of the World Bank Institute (WBI). Before heading WBI, he
held positions as Chief Economist for the World Bank in the East Asia and
Pacific Region. He was the staff Director for the 1991 World Development Report,
entitled ?The Challenge of Development? which assessed the world?s development
experience. He was also Chief of Trade Policy and Principal Economist for
Colombia.
Presentation by
Peter Freeman
Lead Evaluation Officer, Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank
Peter Freeman is the Lead Evaluation Officer responsible for transport projects
at the World Bank Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). Mr. Freeman is Lead
Author of the book ?A Decade of Action in Transport: an Evaluation of World Bank
Assistance to the Transport Sector, 1995-2005.? Peter joined IEG from South
Africa in 2003. Mr. Freeman has many years of both operational and evaluation
experience in infrastructure and was formerly Group Head: Infrastructure at the
Development Bank of Southern Africa and Business Development Manager at the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria.
Comments by
Jamil Saghir
Director, Energy, Transport and Water, in the Sustainable Vice Presidency
(SDNVP), World Bank
Jamil Saghir is the chair of the Energy and Mining Sector Board, Transport
Sector Board, and Water Sector Board. Mr. Saghir joined the Bank in 1990 and
worked on a variety of private sector development, privatization and
restructuring assignments in Africa, Latin America, the CIS countries and the
Middle East and North Africa. In 1994, Mr. Saghir joined the Middle East Country
Department then transferred to the Private Sector Development and Infrastructure
Division in 1995. In 1999, Mr. Saghir was appointed Sector Manager, in the
Infrastructure Development Group in MENA.
Kenneth Button
Professor and Director, Center for Transportation Policy, Operations and
Logistics, George Mason University
Kenneth Button is a Professor of Public Policy at the George Mason School of
Public Policy and a world-renowned expert on transportation policy. Prof. Button
has published some 80 books and over 400 academic papers in the field of
transport economics, transport planning, environmental analysis and industrial
organization. Before coming to the School of Public Policy, Dr. Button served as
advisor to the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development where he headed up the OECD work on International Aviation
(which produced The Future of International Air Transport Policy: Responding to
Global Change).
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