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

Investment commitments to new infrastructure projects with private participation (PPI projects) reaching closure in developing countries fell by 25 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter of 2009. The absence of unusually large projects (US$4 billion or more), such as those that reached closure in the first quarter of 2009, explains the investment decline. If those projects were excluded, investment would have grown 17 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter in 2009. New PPI activity was concentrated in India, which accounted for more than half of investment in the first quarter of 2010. Three other large economies (Brazil, China, and Turkey) saw lower investment in this quarter than in the same quarter of 2009. The remaining developing countries saw some investment growth. By sector, energy continued to account for the bulk of new investment despite the investment drop in the first quarter of 2010. In transport, investment was stable compared with the first quarter of 2009. In water and sewerage investment grew although it remained at a very low level. Across sectors, new private activity, as measured by the number of projects, fell by 25 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter of 2009.