The Last Mile

Rural electrification in Vietnam

This video, produced by the World Bank, documents the success story in rural electrification over the last decade where access improved from 55% in 1998 to over 95 % in 2008. But the real interesting story lies in how it was done and what lessons other developing countries can draw from this work.

As the primary author of this work, I was recently asked by the World Bank to examine the reasons for the success and also to delineate the lessons that may be of more universal relevance. Here are my preliminary findings:

Investment in preparation before designing a project is essential. This implies spending considerable time in the field talking and discussing with those who the project purports to help. We visited over 100 communes in 30 provinces over a period of nine months before finalizing the design of the project.

Participation of the local people needs to encompass all elements of the project - from design to operations. We required all communes to provide written commitments from the households in regard to bearing their share of initial investments and in regular payments of the operating costs.

Local commitment is the sina qua non of any work and it should be enshrined in some form of cost sharing. A basic principle of the work was that nothing would be given free though some amount of subsidies would be provided for the initial investments.

Once the project is completed, it should be clear that subsequent management would be the fundamental responsibility of the local people.

A design which ensure some form of early returns to the local community has a greater chance of success. This may be by providing opportunity for participation in construction contracts or making sure that adequate number of people join the project immediately after completion etc.

Training of local participants to take over management and operations needs to start early in the project work.

In rural electrification, it is essential also to focus on productive uses of power so that there are long term returns on the investments made by the local participants.

A more detailed note is under preparation ie after I have revisited Vietnam to talk directly to those whom this project benefitted!