India records 10-year low in public private investments: World Bank

NEW DELHI: India’s public-private investment (PPI) in infrastructure hit a 10-year low in 2015, shows latest World Bank data, marking sixth consecutive year of contraction.

“India recorded a 10-year low in investments, as only six road projects, usually a rich source of PPI over the past 10 years, reached financial closure,” the World Bank said in its latest annual report — Private Participation in Infrastructure Database.

The report released in Washington on Tuesday showed total global investment in infrastructure in 2015 at $111.6 billion, almost same as $111.7 billon in the previous year but well below the five-year average of $124.1 billion between 2010 and 2014.

“This contraction resulted from lower investments in Brazil, China and India,” the World Bank said, adding these are historically high PPI markets. The top player was Turkey which garnered investments up to $44.7 billion-$43.1billion in transport and $1.6 billion in energy.

Because of the inability of the private sector to bring investment, the Indian government has focused less on PPI after taking charge, even though it has tried to address issues faced by private developers.

Outside of India, China and Brazil investment rose at a fast pace. “The data finds that investments in other emerging economies increased rapidly to $99.9 billion, representing a 92% year-over-year increase,” said Clive Harris, practice manager (Public-Private Partnerships) in the World Bank.

Brazil saw commitment of only $4.5 billion, down sharply from $47.2 billion in the previous year. “Investment in China also fell significantly below its 5-, 10-, and 20-year averages, as the average transaction dropped to $63 million,” it added. In terms of number of projects, China, India and Brazil were still ahead of other 131 of the 300 global deals, 44% of all projects.

In South-Asia region, India was well ahead of the others. “Consistent with historical trends, India generated a majority of the projects (36 out of 43); Pakistan had four; Nepal two; and Bangladesh one.