World Bank busted over bus project in Lima

The Bank board approved in June a management response to a complaint from residents of the Barranco district in Lima, Peru, about the impacts of a bus service project that it supported. The complainants filed the case with the Inspection Panel (IP) – the Bank’s complaints mechanism – in 2009, claiming that consultations were not carried out, and that the environmental assessment was neither properly conducted nor approved. The IP found that “the traffic increase in Barranco to which the project contributed was significant and deteriorated the quality of life of the residents”. It added that “Bank policies on supervision, environmental assessment and cultural property were not complied with”. Bank management responded by commissioning a new traffic management study for the district and said it would incorporate lessons learned from the case.