The role of Infrastructure in Regional Economic Planning Regional policies use at least two instruments to secure policy objectives

Financial Incentives directly on firms balance sheet in form of easy loan, grants, subsidies, tax relief etc. If the impact is sufficient it have a direct effect on the industries concerned. Development of the infrastructure in the areas in developed region or in special regions before further investment. This work indirectly on the economy of the region. In some regions of some country have different experience on the infrastructure role such as, its infrastructures cannot be used until are remedied then are incentive otherwise disincentive while on the other hand the existing inherited infrastructure is adequate. Here the causes of the backwardness will be due to other factors than infrastructure. In such cases financial incentives to the firm may have a more significance than improving infrastructure and vice versa. There is interdependency between the two policy objective instruments. National or regional policies, trial and error measure cannot be avoided. How to shape infrastructure policies so as to avoid wasteful expenditure, since its provision is cost full and long term effect, error has to be kept in minimum so as to minimize waste of resources.

Waste of expenditure is the technically misallocation of resources so they do not achieve their intended direct return and ultimate purpose achievement. Such as expenditure on road construction is wasteful expenditure if the purpose of the of the construction was to bring about a certain level of regional development and it fails to do so on the extent which is required to justify the diversion of resources to the construction of the road. Infrastructure can be explained as the complimentary equipment which a society needs and possesses to enable the individuals, organizations and enterprises of which it is composed to function and carry out their activities. Classified according to purpose in hand. Physical infrastructure such as Land, buildings, machines and the manpower that operates them and enables them to serve at large. Social Infrastructure such as provision of education, health services and housing amenity, that necessary to provide technical, vocational , mental fit and productive inputs for industries. Economic Infrastructure are those needed not only for factories but also in hospitals, schools, environmental needs in nutshell equipment necessary for economic activity such as power, irrigation schemes. Administrative Infrastructure that which provide for legal framework and law enforcement, administrative control and coordination to further all types of activity in which community must be engaged. Some of the forms can be provided by enterprises to meet their own set requirements - internal infrastructure, however in the

process the large percentage of the societys infrastructure is provided by individual enterprises but serving the purpose the community at large external infrastructure. That is to say not only because the infrastructure in place serves the collective society needs the it should necessarily has to be provided by the public authorities. It will be outcome of relevant legislative framework determined by the policies and actions of the bodies providing the structure unless Government enforces specific regional policies. Due to that development of infrastructure has been a problem not only because of the limited power of the Governments to influence the expenditure of many of the organizations and bodies that make decisions on infrastructure but also because of the conflicts between policy objectives which prevent any other objective having an overriding say over the other. Say the need for the country is the road construction for industrial needs in regions of backwardness to speed up development and much of the resource concentrated to it will interfere with the other regions as it will secure high rate of growth than others of which will call for the other backward that substantial resource diversion for infrastructure development elsewhere. Whatever policy decision made may involve some modifications by which investment on infrastructure is determined or preference to projects earning higher rates of return over those earning a lower one. However in many countries political

pressures plays a inevitable part in securing preferential treatment for some regions. In one way or the other infrastructure is highly related to the general development so that some decisions are made in due haste, however some considerations are kept in thoughts as follows in determining the role of infrastructure in general and regional growth; The inverse relationship between growth of the society and infrastructure in place. Without water, energy, power society cannot live and work as supposed also unless there is a surplus or benefit on it no need to provide for infrastructure. An expansion of infrastructure may serve other than economic purpose and some economic development may be possible without corresponding expansion of all form of infrastructure. There is degree of complementarity between various kinds of infrastructure. Not only between infrastructure and general development, complementarity between hospitals, roads, schools, power e.t.c produce different results in terms of development, if correctly provided with combinations of different kinds of infrastructure. Ratio of the kinds of infrastructure depends on the nature and scale of development and the demands it makes for particular type of infrastructure. A difference in demographic pattern of different regions in terms of population, age, sex composition, skills, resources and economic structure or environment

will cause investment on different kinds of infrastructure will produce different levels of development from region to region. Technical efficiency, the success of regional infrastructure development does not mean are efficient. If the infrastructure may be efficiently built while there are no complementary factors such as skilled labors in place it will not yield the required returns or even if with the presence it will turn to comparative advantage in relation to other regions. Normal regional pattern of distribution of infrastructure consideration and growth is closely fueled by regional distribution of the activities of the society as a whole, infrastructure is bound to take place where the majority of economic and social activities in the society occurs. The development of the national pattern infrastructure, of which consistently altering the balances of advantages and disadvantages, it is difficult to realize which regions may have gained the greater benefits but there is strong sense that benefits will be greater in the more densely populated area, developed regions in particular capital cities and centers. When considering policy formulation on infrastructure several questions or principles are to be asked; Identifying and formulating code of infrastructure deficiencies in the economy and reflecting their

application throughout the country. The application of normal code of which differs regionally such as coding for provision of health care, education. The code are legal by local laws and regulations and in the rules of the organization providing them is likely to be satisfactory in terms of given regional policy objectives, if not then it needs to be modifies or new special codes to be created. Awareness of what are the particular infrastructures deficiencies which led to regional such situation which is necessitate modification and their effect on regional of the proposed codes and measures. Thus no amount of provision of infrastructure will promote economic or other development in areas in which the necessary complimentary conditions do not exists. In highly developed or exploited areas seem to have suitable infrastructure which will have less use when resources are exhausted, development of new infrastructure will bring little change if the conditions for alternative industries cannot be satisfied. In backward regions may lack such infrastructure but in progress may depend on a proper identification of deficiency. The provision of the needed capital or revenue resources on especially favorable conditions compared with those in which they exist. Those conditions could be restraints in other regions while incentives in other regions. Remedying of the deficiencies posses a special institutional and organizational problems. Public sector infrastructure in most countries provided by the central or

local government but due to poor equipments, too small in size institutional and organizational problems arise. In many instances the tasks require a combined or coordinated effort of central and local bodies working on complementary projects.