Abstract
Governments around the world have turned to infrastructure development to stimulate economic growth. From the UK’s Plan for Growth and the European Green Deal to the US’s Build Back Better Plan, infrastructure has been positioned as the panacea for better connecting people and places with opportunities.
The sheer scale of investment, currently an estimated $79tn for G20 countries, is staggering.
Rapid urbanisation and evolving environmental and social priorities have placed growing demands on the ability of governments to attract private finance or raise debt. National infrastructure banks have stepped in to crowd-in investment
or de-risk emerging technologies, with the aim to produce positive environmental, social and governance outcomes. This has been challenged by the ability to deliver projects on time and within budget.
The affordability of infrastructure and its ability to address resilience and sustainability needs vary widely based on a range of circumstances. For example, political instability or a lack of financial reserves can limit access to capital
markets, particularly in areas that stand most to benefit from infrastructure upgrades. While such differences are stark between high and low-income countries, they are equally observable at a sub-national level where municipalities/local authorities are often forced to compete for funding without
due regard to need or capacity.
This report supplements our earlier publication Investing in regional equality, which examined a range of initiatives undertaken in four cities around the world. We extend this learning by considering six projects focused on infrastructure – from rural broadband access in Italy and Lithuania, to a bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. All these projects have had some significant impacts on their respective regions, showcasing how different, often innovative, approaches to infrastructure development can yield positive benefits to local communities and a broad range of stakeholders. However, some of the projects did not achieve all their aims or proceeded more slowly than planned.
The sheer scale of investment, currently an estimated $79tn for G20 countries, is staggering.
Rapid urbanisation and evolving environmental and social priorities have placed growing demands on the ability of governments to attract private finance or raise debt. National infrastructure banks have stepped in to crowd-in investment
or de-risk emerging technologies, with the aim to produce positive environmental, social and governance outcomes. This has been challenged by the ability to deliver projects on time and within budget.
The affordability of infrastructure and its ability to address resilience and sustainability needs vary widely based on a range of circumstances. For example, political instability or a lack of financial reserves can limit access to capital
markets, particularly in areas that stand most to benefit from infrastructure upgrades. While such differences are stark between high and low-income countries, they are equally observable at a sub-national level where municipalities/local authorities are often forced to compete for funding without
due regard to need or capacity.
This report supplements our earlier publication Investing in regional equality, which examined a range of initiatives undertaken in four cities around the world. We extend this learning by considering six projects focused on infrastructure – from rural broadband access in Italy and Lithuania, to a bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. All these projects have had some significant impacts on their respective regions, showcasing how different, often innovative, approaches to infrastructure development can yield positive benefits to local communities and a broad range of stakeholders. However, some of the projects did not achieve all their aims or proceeded more slowly than planned.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | London |
| Publisher | The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy |
| Number of pages | 50 |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2022 |
