Investment in New Private Infrastructure Projects in Developing Countries Slowed Down in the First Quarter of 2010

Abstract

This review sheds some light on recent private participation in infrastructure (PPI) activity, the short-term impact of the financial crisis and its aftermath. Compared with the previous update on the impact of the crisis, this note incorporates two improvements: a larger sample size (1,080 projects, up from 965 in the previous update) over a longer period (from January 2008 to March 2010). The findings of the survey show that investment growth in PPI projects continues to be concentrated in the largest developing economies, particularly India. The remaining developing countries saw some investment recovery in the first quarter of 2010. However, it is too soon to assess whether this recovery will continue and reverse the trend of declining investment in these countries.