Cinthya Pastor*, María Eugenia Rivas, Tomás Serebrisky
The IDB’s 2020 flagship book, From Structures to Services, seeks to motivate us to think on today’s basic infrastructure services and on how technological disruption will change the way these services will be delivered in the future. Latin America and the Caribbean has pending challenges in relation to infrastructure services. In the power sector, despite efforts made in the region to boost access there still are 18 million people without electricity, most of them from low-income groups. In addition, the region suffers an average of 16 power disruptions a year, which represents more than one blackout per month. The region needs to invest more and better. In a context where technologies are changing and improving the way infrastructure services are delivered, these technologies have become a powerful tool to usher in a future marked by quality and affordable services.
As part of the IDB’s 2020 flagship book, a number of case studies were conducted to seek successful examples of technology helping improve the way infrastructure services are delivered. The cases highlight Korea’s experience in managing smart infrastructure services and improving their efficiency. Korea is a leader in terms of infrastructure and technology. Its advances in the sector go far beyond significant investments in infrastructure. Korea has managed to develop quality services that have turned it into a smart infrastructure leader. The purpose of this approach is to identify Korea’s technological know-how and qualified experience in the preparation, management and measurement of smart infrastructure services in order to complement and strengthen Latin American and the Caribbean countries’ national and regional technical abilities in this area.
Together with the Korea Development Institute, in the next video, we show you Korea’s smart grids experience, analyzing their main success factors, including the political framework they picked and the use of technology for providing efficient infrastructure services. In this context, Korea’s experience in the use of technology to deliver services offers valuable lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean.
*Cinthya Pastor is Director of Economics at Global Infrastructure Hub. She previously worked as an economist at the IDB’s Infrastructure and Energy Department’s Manager Office. Prior to that she served as a consultant at Peru´s Economy and Finance Ministry, and before as Head of Public Policies at the Instituto Peruano de Economía, a not-for-profit organization founded by the World Bank in 1994 dedicated to analyzing and proposing public policies. Cinthya Pastor holds a degree in Economics from Lima’s Universidad del Pacífico and a Master in Public Administration and International Development from Harvard University
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