Document Type
Report/Policy Paper
Publication Date
10-2020
Abstract
To be beneficial for a country’s development, non-renewable resource extraction should be leveraged to build long-term assets, such as infrastructure, that will support sustainable and inclusive growth. This is especially critical for countries facing an infrastructure-funding gap (e.g. the World Bank’s Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic has estimated that Africa faces an annual infrastructure funding gap of US$31 billion); leveraging extractive industry-related investment could help fill this gap. Historically, natural resource concessionaires have adopted an enclave approach to infrastructure development, providing their own power and transportation services to ensure that the basic infrastructure needed for their operations is reliably available.
Shared-Use Infrastructure Along the World’s Largest Iron Ore Operation: Lessons Learned from the Carajás Corridor The Carajás railway corridor connects the world’s largest iron ore mine, operated by mining company Vale in Brazil’s Amazon region, to the company’s maritime terminal. Carajás is one of the few integrated railway corridors financed by a mining company that, apart from transporting the iron ore that made the investment viable, also transports general cargo and operates passenger services. Besides the shared-use or open-access arrangement along the railroad, third parties also benefit from Vale’s investments in port, airport, and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.
Building on CCSI’s work on leveraging mining-related infrastructure investment for development, this study provides insights into the logistics and institutional setup of the Carajás corridor and lessons learned for other countries seeking to implement a similar shared-use approach. It also provides insights into the benefits and costs related to the corridor, as well as opportunities to increase the development benefits resulting from its shared use. Both the full report and the executive summary are available.
The initial phase of this project consisted of a worldwide survey of case studies of shared use of mining-related infrastructure. Four Policy Papers deliver the findings for 1) mineral railways and ports, 2) power infrastructure, 3) water infrastructure, and 4) internet and telecommunications.
Recommended Citation
Martin D. Brauch, Nicolas Maennling, Perrine Toledano, Edgar Santos Monteiro & Felipe Botelho Tavares,
Shared-Use Infrastructure Along the World’s Largest Iron Ore Operation: Lessons Learned from the Carajás Corridor,
(2020).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sustainable_investment_staffpubs/180
Executive Summary