New data generated by the World Bank indicates that private participation in infrastructure (PPI) in developing countries, including those in the Caribbean, has seen what it describes as a “very modest uptick” in the second half of the year against the backdrop of the advent of a COVID-19 pandemic that had been “widespread and swift.”
The Bank says in its disclosure published a week ago that the 56 per cent drop in PPI from the previous year moderated to 52 per cent for the full year, having taken a historic plunge in the first half of 2020 on account of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In the course of making its point, the World Bank stated that pandemic’s impact was most severe in East Asia and the Pacific, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, and South Asia. According to the Bank, infrastructure investment commitments in 2020 stood at US$45.7 billion across 252 projects in developing countries. “Hopefully, this data signals that the worst effects of COVID-19 on private sector infrastructure finance are now behind most developing countries,” the World Bank’s Director for Infrastructure Finance Imad Fakhoury is quoted as saying. Fakhoury is also quoted as saying that the situation remains “in flux” as the pandemic’s trajectory changes, but that the Bank was “keen on scaling up private investment in sustainable and quality infrastructure… going forward, though he conceded that the situation still required “more resilient frameworks and enabling environments.” “This is critical for restoring progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and delivering on climate commitments to ensure green, resilient and inclusive development,” Fakhoury added.
The period beginning at the start of 2020 has witnessed delays or cancellation of infrastructure projects across much of the world on account of supply-chain disruptions, travel and shipping restrictions, and other obstacles.
