Benchmarking Infrastructure Development Team

Fernanda acts as Project Coordinator for the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development project. Since she joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2007, Fernanda has worked in the infrastructure sector in East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia and Latin America, and the Caribbean (LCR) Regions. Fernanda has been working at the Bank in both research and operations, focusing mainly on transport, energy, and urban sectors, and providing overall strategic directions and technical inputs on operations and analytical work related to infrastructure policy, economics, and financing. She is the focal point for PPPs in the LCR region. Before joining the Bank, Fernanda worked as a Research Associate in the Institute of Economic Research at the Fundación Banco Empresario in Argentina, and as a Research Analyst at the Inter-American Development Bank. She was also a lecturer in the Economics Department at the University of Chicago (2003-2005) and at the Universidad Nacional de Tucuman (2000-2002). A national of Argentina, Fernanda holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Within the PPP Group of the World Bank's Infrastructure Finance, PPPs and Guarantees (IPG) Global Practice, Mikel's work focuses on infrastructure governance and regulation as well as on issues related to PPPs fiscal commitments and contingent liabilities (FCCL). Mikel initially joined the World Bank in December 2014 as a consultant to lead and develop the different editions of the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development initiative that continues to be a key part of his work.

Before joining the World Bank, Mikel worked on issues related to the fiscal implications of PPPs at the Fiscal and Municipal Management Division of the Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to that, he practiced public and administrative law as an associate attorney with the firm Garrigues in Barcelona, Spain. Mikel holds a joint degree in Law and Business Administration from the Public University of Navarra and holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the McCourt School of Georgetown University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University Trachtenberg School.

Isabela Albergaria first joined the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development team in September 2019. Previously, Isabela had been working for the Development Economics Group of the World Bank since January 2017, where she worked as a legal analyst for Lusophony and Hispanophone countries for projects such as Global Indicators of Regulatory Governance, Women, Business and the Law, Subnational Doing Business, among others. As a Brazilian attorney with a mixed background in business and human rights, Isabela had the opportunity to work with public and private sectors in Brazil, as well as with international organizations such as the Organization of American States and the International Chamber of Commerce. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in International Legal Studies from the American University Washington College of Law and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Faculdade de Direito de Vitoria, Brazil. Isabela speaks Portuguese and Spanish.

Maroi Kouka joined the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development team in May 2022. Prior to joining the World Bank Group, she has been a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford, a research fellow at the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin, and a PhD candidate in international law at the Paris 8 University. She has prior experience working on various human rights related projects within international, regional, and local organizations. She holds a Master’s degree in International Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws from Paris-Saclay University, a Master’s degree in International and European Laws, as well as a degree in Corporate Law, both from Paris Sud University. Maroi speaks Arabic, French, and some German.

Alejandro Sicra joined the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development team in April 2023. Prior to that, he worked on a number of assignments across the World Bank Group related to transport, logistics, infrastructure development, and climate change. As an Argentine economist specializing in transport public policy planning, he had the opportunity to work with the private and public sectors in Argentina, as well as with international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the Latin America and the Caribbean Development Bank, among others. He is also a researcher at the Transport Institute of the National University of San Martin and has been a lecturer at several universities in Argentina. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a Master's degree in Transport Planning and Management from the University of Buenos Aires. Alejandro is a native Spanish speaker.

Khasan Khamudkhanov is an infrastructure analyst at the World Bank Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF). He joined the Benchmarking Infrastructure Development team in October 2015. Before joining the Benchmarking Public Procurement team, Khasan was an intern for the World Bank Group’s Doing Business project, where he worked on the Enforcing Contracts and the Protecting Minority Investors indicators. Khasan worked at Citibank Philippines prior to joining the World Bank Group, where he focused on improving and streamlining the credit and loan approval process within the Credit Payment Products Department. Khasan holds a Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, and a Bachelor in Commerce specializing in Finance and Business Technology Management (BTM) from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. Khasan is fluent in Russian and Uzbek.