$94T needed for infrastructure

london — Nearly a fifth of the $94 trillion in global infrastructure investment needed by 2040 risks being unfunded if current spending trends continue, the G20-backed Global Infrastructure Hub said on Tuesday.

To close the spending gap, annual infrastructure spending needs to rise to 3.5 per cent from 3 per cent of global gross domestic product, the GIH said in a report.

The report details how much each country needs to spend on infrastructure to 2040, which sectors need it the most and how they far they are from meeting these needs based on current spending trends.

“We believe this information will be key to governments, and indeed those organisations that fund, plan

3.7% jump in global GdP between now and 2030

and build infrastructure projects into the future –and providing sustainable cities with social and economic benefits for all,” GIH Chief Executive Chris Heathcote said.

The GIH, set up by the G20 in 2014, aims to help to increase opportunities for public and private investment in infrastructure around the world. It is funded by governments including Britain, Australia, China, Korea and Singapore.

Every year, $3.7 trillion needs to be invested in infrastructure to meet demand - equivalent to the annual economic output of Germany, the world’s fourth largest economy.

And to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to ensure universal access to drinking water and electricity by 2030, investment needs to increase to 3.7 per cent of global GDP between now and 2030, it said. The investment is needed to support global economic growth and fill gaps in infrastructure in both developed and developing countries, the GIH said. —