REVIEW: Poverty alleviating infrastructure requires innovation

The core of contemporary societies is infrastructure, it is crucial for inclusive growth and poverty reduction on a habitable planet, access to clean water, schools, hospitals, energy, transportation, and digital networks. To fulfill the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement targets, infrastructure must be reimagined as sustainable, resilient, and inclusive. Financing, planning, and construction all require innovative approaches.

Developing sustainable infrastructure in emerging markets and developing economies requires colossal annual investments in the trillions. Innovative funding, planning, and construction approaches are paramount to achieving this.

Firstly, governments facing fiscal constraints must prioritize private sector-led infrastructure development and finance through mechanisms like public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Secondly, development banks, including multilateral development banks (MDBs), play a crucial role, facilitating large-scale private investments.

Thirdly, accelerating the creation of bankable infrastructure projects and program pipelines is vital.

To achieve a trillions-worth economy from billions in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), there must be a significantly increase in investments in the development of infrastructure projects. This will help attract private funding for sustainable, resilient, and all-encompassing infrastructure.

The full hardhatREVIEW article can be read in the World Bank blogs follow our WhatsAPP channel for more hardhatREVIEWS  here .