Monday
March 29
2021

Analysis: Can Infrastructure Projects Drive Emerging Markets’ COVID-19 Recoveries?

Many emerging markets are turning towards infrastructure projects to stimulate the economic recovery from the coranvirus pandemic, with a particular focus on green and sustainable developments.

Despite the broader downturn last year – which the IMF says resulted in the global economy contracting by 3.5% – the number of newly announced infrastructure projects actually increased by 5%, according to analysis from global financial data company Refinitiv.  In total, 2550 new projects were announced in 2020 with a combined value of $739bn.

Of these, 56% were classified as sustainable, primarily made up of renewable energy projects in the solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric segments. This was the fourth consecutive year in which the number of sustainable projects increased, rising from 808 in 2016 to 1437 in 2020.

A majority of infrastructure projects announced last year were in the power sector (63.7%), followed by transportation (11.4%), leisure and property (7.9%), and oil and gas (5.6%).

Source: Oxford Business Group (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Coronavirus
Tags
infrastructure, SDGs, transportation