Unlocking Private Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure in Asia

Investment in infrastructure is essential for promoting economic growth, and while countries in Asia have enjoyed higher rates of gross domestic product growth in recent years, the region remains severely deficient in the scale and quality of sustainable infrastructure. Moreover, population growth and climate change continue to put increasing pressure on the need for strategic and farsighted development, calling for policy makers to reevaluate infrastructure governance to ensure sustainable economic growth. Currently, in developing Asia, most investment in infrastructure comes from the public sector. However, with growing fiscal deficits and other budgetary constraints, it is essential to develop alternative sources of investment for infrastructure projects. This presents opportunities to tap into the private sector, which can play an instrumental role in minimizing the funding gap through the development of stronger, more transparent public–private partnerships (PPPs) and incentivizing sustainable infrastructure investment. This book provides a scholarly discussion on the importance of PPPs and approaches to unlock private participation in infrastructure investment based on lessons from across Asia. Among the proposed schemes are government tax incentives, development-based land value capture strategy under PPP land pooling, Viability Gap Funds, Project Development Facilities, and other guarantees. The book aims to assess the impacts and future of sustainable infrastructure investments and examines the role of governments in mobilizing financial resources and new models for unlocking private investment in sustainable infrastructure. This book consists of fifteen original chapters on the experiences of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) and a few other cases for promoting private investment in sustainable infrastructure. The fact that not much has been published previously on this theme makes this book a welcome and timely addition to the much needed knowledge on this subject. ‘The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylor fran cis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non- Commercial- No Derivatives 4.0 license.’

Introduction. PART I: Assessing the Impacts of Investments and the Future of Sustainable Infrastructure 1. Infrastructure Investment and Managerial Oversight: A Pathway to Regional Growth, Eugene Chao and Necmetting Kaymaz 2. Transition Pathways for Central Asian Energy Infrastructure, David Roland-Holst and Fredrich Kahrl 3. Silk Road Smart Cities: Sustainable Growth and Recovery Drivers for Central Asia? Nicolas J.A. Buchoud 4. Infrastructure Needs and Investment Schemes in CAREC Countries: Perspectives from a Pan-Asian Natural Gas Trade Model, Youngho Chang and Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary 5. Financing Infrastructure in Central Asia: The Water Sector, Iskandar Abdullaev and Shakhboz Akhmedov 6. Does Infrastructure Investment Lead to Economic growth: Evidence from Central Asian Countries? K. P. Prabeesh, Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, and Rakesh Padhan 7. Three Models of Local Public Financing for Infrastructure Investment in the People’s Republic of China, Minquan Liu 8. Impacts of the Patterns of Financing on Logistic Infrastructure in CAREC Member Countries, Muhammad Ayub Mehar Part II: The Role of Governments and New Models for Unlocking Private Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure 9. Private Financing for Water Infrastructure in Central Asia, Naoyuki Yoshino, Nella Hendriyetty, Derek Hondo, and Misuzu Nakamura 10. The Role of Government in Attracting Private Investment in Suitable Infrastructure: Case of Foreign Direct Investment Inflows in Central Asia, Keun Jung Lee and Chul Ju Kim 11. Private-Public Partnerships in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and CAREC and their Scope for Renewable Energy Projects, Dharish David and Amar Causevic 12. An Evidence-Based Approach to Infrastructure Development in Uzbekistan, Umid Abidhadjaev and Feruzbek Davletov 13. Government Initiatives to Unlock Private Participation in Infrastructure: Lessons from Indonesia’s Public–Private Partnership in the Water Sector, Febrio Kacaribu, Yohanna M.L. Gultom, Nauli A. Desdiani, and Syahda Sabrina 14. Land Pooling: A Public–Private Model for Sustainable Infrastructure Investment in Delhi, Gaurav Verma 15. Tax Incentives to Attract Private Investment in Infrastructure: The Indonesian Perspective, Wawan Juswanto and Yanuar Falak Abiyunus

Bhajan Grewal is Professor at Victoria University, Australia. Nella Hendriyetty is Senior Economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Iskandar Abdullaev is Deputy Director Two, CAREC Institute Chul Ju Kim is Chairman of the Credit Coordination Committee, Republic of Korea, and Former Deputy Dean, ADBI Naoyuki Yoshino is Professor Emeritus, Keio University Japan and Former Dean and CEO, ADBI Eisa Khan Ayoob Ayoobi is Chief of the Capacity Building Division, CAREC Institute.