Commissioned by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Beijing Jinzhun Consulting Co., Ltd. organized the translation of the Chinese version of its book Infrastructure Financing for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, which has been published by China Yanshi Publishing House.
Infrastructure development plays an important role on the path towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific region. In the region, the centerpiece of the regional development agenda should be the pursuit of sustainable infrastructure. However, infrastructure projects have encountered many significant challenges and risks in financing (e.g., large project sizes, high project complexity, and sometimes cross-border implementation of projects), so that hesitations and bottlenecks in project development have occurred occasionally. These developmental obstacles threaten the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Asia-Pacific region. So how should countries address these challenges?
This book takes a look at infrastructure financing in the Asia-Pacific region and proposes a number of new strategic approaches and priorities for infrastructure financing, based on three complementary points: first, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should serve as an overarching principle for establishing good practices at all stages of infrastructure development, from initial planning to construction and operation; second, governments need to provide an enabling environment for infrastructure financing and development, such as developing new financial instruments and financial markets that enable effective planning and utilization of infrastructure investments; and third, the private sector should be involved in infrastructure development as a partner in helping to achieve economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Second, governments need to provide an enabling environment for infrastructure financing and development, such as the development of new financial instruments and financial markets to enable effective planning and utilization of infrastructure investments; and third, the private sector should be involved in infrastructure development as a partner in helping to achieve economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable development.
This book advocates a shift in strategic thinking, whereby a more holistic approach to infrastructure financing can help promote infrastructure development in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby contributing to the development of the region and, ultimately, to the achievement of the sustainable development goals set out in the Asia-Pacific 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.