Biller, DanAndrés, LuisHerrera Dappe, Matías2014-04-162014-04-162013-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/17847Despite recent rapid growth and poverty reduction, the South Asia Region (SAR) continues to suffer from a combination of insufficient economic growth, slow urbanization, and huge infrastructure gaps that together could jeopardize future progress. It is also home to the largest pool of individuals living under the poverty line of any region, coupled with some of the fastest demographic growth rates of any region. Between 1990 and 2010, the number of people living on less than US$1.25 a day in South Asia decreased by only 18 percent, while the population grew by 42 percent. If South Asia hopes to meet its development goals and not risk slowing down, or even halting, growth and poverty alleviation, it is essential to make closing its huge infrastructure gap a priority. But the challenges on this front are monumental. Many people living in SAR remain unconnected to a reliable electrical grid, a safe water supply, sanitary sewerage disposal, and sound roads and transportation networks. This region requires significant infrastructure investment (roads, rails, power, water supply, sanitation, and telecommunications) not only to ensure basic service delivery and enhance the quality of life of its growing population, but also to avoid a possible binding constraint on economic growth owing to the substantial infrastructure gap.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO INFRASTRUCTUREAGGLOMERATIONAIRAIR POLLUTIONAIRPORTSBARRIERS TO ENTRYBASIC SERVICESBOTTLENECKSCASH TRANSFERSCITIESCLIMATE CHANGECOMMUNITIESCONCESSIONCONCESSIONSCOST RECOVERYCOST-BENEFIT ANALYSISDEMAND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTDEREGULATIONDIESELDISTRIBUTION GRIDECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICSECONOMIC GROWTHELECTRICITYELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTIONELECTRICITY GENERATIONELECTRICITY SECTORELECTRICITY SERVICESELECTRICITY SUPPLYENTRY BARRIERSEXTERNALITIESFINANCE INFRASTRUCTUREFINANCIAL BURDENFREIGHTFREIGHT TRANSPORTFUELSGASOLINEGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH RATESHUMAN CAPITALINFRASTRUCTURE ASSETSINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROJECTSINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTSINFRASTRUCTURE POLICYINFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTSINFRASTRUCTURE PROVISIONINFRASTRUCTURE SERVICESINFRASTRUCTURESINSPECTIONINTERNATIONAL ENERGYINVESTMENT CLIMATEINVESTMENT REQUIREMENTSINVESTMENT TARGETSLEASE CONTRACTLEASE CONTRACTSLENGTH OF ROADLOCAL GOVERNMENTSMAINTENANCE COSTSMAINTENANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURENATIONAL GOVERNMENTSNATIONAL TRANSPORTNATURAL MONOPOLYNETWORK EXTERNALITIESNETWORK PLANNINGNETWORK SERVICESPETROLEUM GASPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPOWERPOWER DISTRIBUTIONPOWER PLANTSPOWER SECTORPRIVATE INVESTORPRIVATE OPERATORSPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENTPRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATIONPUBLICPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC RESOURCESPUBLIC SAFETYPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENTPUBLIC SERVICESPUBLIC UTILITIESPUBLIC WORKSRAILRAILWAYSREGIONAL INFRASTRUCTUREREGULATORY FRAMEWORKROADROAD MAINTENANCEROAD NETWORKROAD NETWORKSROAD SECTORROADSSAFE WATER SUPPLYSANITATIONSANITATION SERVICESSERVICE EXPANSIONSERVICE LEVELSSERVICE PROVIDERSSOCIAL WELFARESOLID WASTE COLLECTIONSTATE HIGHWAYSSUBDIVISIONSTAXTELECOMMUNICATIONSTRANSPORTTRANSPORT ACCESSTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURETRANSPORT SECTORTRANSPORT SERVICESTRANSPORTATIONTRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTTRANSPORTATION NETWORKSTRUEURBAN HIGHWAYURBAN POORURBANIZATIONUSER FEESWASTEWASTE COLLECTIONWATER SERVICES10.1596/17847