Asia's Next Infrastructure Boom

Infrastructure is essential for development. Roads, railways, ports and power supplies have helped drive Asia’s growth, allowing its people to get to work and its products to reach markets.

- Yasuyuki Sawada

For this momentum to continue, the region’s existing stock of infrastructure must be upgraded. A new generation of transport networks, energy facilities, and water and sanitation systems must be built.

The demand for infrastructure across Asia and the Pacific far outstrips current supply, according to a recent ADB report, Meeting Asia’s Infrastructure Needs. More than US$26 trillion (tr) will be needed between 2016 and 2030, or US$1.7tr a year, to deliver infrastructure that supports robust growth and is resilient to climate change. That’s double the amount spent annually at present.

How can we close the gap? Asia’s governments alone cannot foot this staggering bill, and the private sector can be reluctant, often with good reason, to shoulder the risk. Coordinated action is the only way forward. Otherwise, growth opportunities will be missed and it will take longer for countries to lift their citizens out of poverty.

History provides lessons on how we might move ahead. In the 1800s, the construction of the Transcontinental Railway in the United States and the British and Japanese railway systems helped revolutionise industry in those countries. This is what good infrastructure does-provide the backbone for economic activity to take place.