Home / Media / InfraCompass 2020 helps governments drive reform and unlock infrastructure investment
Publication Date 30 June 2020 Published 30 Jun 2020

InfraCompass 2020 helps governments drive reform and unlock infrastructure investment

Sydney - Tuesday 30 June 2020. Today the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub) released InfraCompass 2020 a significant update to its online tool and report that aims to support government policymakers to identify opportunities to reduce barriers to investment and encourage greater investment in quality infrastructure.

For the first time, InfraCompass 2020 ranks countries against eight drivers of quality infrastructure, revealing unique trends since 2017. The tool uses data from leading international organisations, including the World Bank Group, World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Working with Deloitte Asia Pacific, GI Hub extended InfraCompass’ exhaustive data analysis to 25 new countries across different regions, including the Pacific. The tool now covers a total of 81 countries, collectively representing 93% of global gross domestic product and 86% of the global population.

Below are the eight drivers and the top ranked country in each:

  • Governance - Singapore
  • Regulatory frameworks - United Kingdom
  • Permits - Singapore
  • Planning - United Kingdom
  • Procurement - Mexico
  • Activity - Jordan
  • Funding capacity (new) – Denmark
  • Financial markets (new) - United States of America.

GI Hub CEO, Marie Lam-Frendo said: “The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 across the globe mean there has never been a more important time for effective policymaking by government, and infrastructure is no exception.

We’ve updated InfraCompass 2020 to support governments around the world in identifying key areas to improve performance, leading to greater investment in infrastructure. Countries can then realise the flow-on benefits of increased growth, productivity, jobs, trade and better outcomes for the community and environment.”

Key InfraCompass findings include:

  • Planning was the least improved driver globally, with 38% of countries still lacking national infrastructure plans and 28% not yet publishing a pipeline of projects
  • Taxation regimes that create poor incentives for investment were evident in 70% of countries
  • Procurement was the most improved driver globally, with 88% of countries now publishing procurement guidelines, and almost 40% of countries making improvements since 2017.
  • 35% of countries do not conduct market soundings before project procurement
  • 95% of countries analysed now have dedicated national infrastructure agencies
  • Some middle and low-income countries are making strides in improving their policy and market drivers to enable the delivery of quality infrastructure
  • Permits is the most varied driver across income groups. Some lower middle-income countries have reformed their procedures for issuing construction permits and starting businesses and now outperform many high-income countries that have longer legacy processes.

Deloitte Asia Pacific’s Lead Partner - Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Luke Houghton said: “The value of InfraCompass is that it pinpoints where and how governments can improve their infrastructure investment capabilities. With the prescribed best practice guidance and leadership from decision-makers, InfraCompass can drive greater prosperity by helping to close the infrastructure gap.”

Key updates to InfraCompass 2020

  • Country rankings for each of the eight drivers
  • Case studies of infrastructure best practice in each driver to encourage openness, transparency and greater dialogue among countries on reforms to deliver better quality infrastructure for investment
  • Online users can compare performance across countries and regions
  • Two new drivers – Funding Capacity and Financial Markets – added to create a more comprehensive view of the infrastructure indicators that enable quality infrastructure investment
  • Clear highlights of how well countries perform against each of the eight drivers. This allows countries to identify benchmarks and understand the options for better practice from across the globe.
  • 25 new countries have been added to the analysis, including five Pacific Island countries, expanding InfraCompass coverage to a total of 81 countries.

According to GI Hub’s Global Infrastructure Outlook, there is an estimated USD15 trillion global infrastructure investment gap over the next two decades. Bridging this gap requires a broad set of actions, including creating robust governance and regulatory frameworks, crowding in private finance, enhancing the efficiency of public spending, and leveraging technology and innovation in delivering and managing infrastructure.

With political will to implement reforms, InfraCompass 2020 can help governments to identify and prioritise reforms that deliver a greater service outcome for every dollar invested - an important metric in a post COVID-19 world.

Explore Infracompass 2020 here.

Subscribe