Turkey absorbs almost half of global private infrastructure investment in 2015: World Bank

As global private infrastructure investment in 2015 mostly remained steady at $111.6 billion, Turkey raised the bar with the financial closure of seven projects for a record $44.7 billion, said the World Bank in a news release on June 13. 

According to new data from the World Bank Group’s Private Participation in Infrastructure Database, Turkey absorbed some 40 percent of global investment with two megadeals in transport: Istanbul’s $35.6 billion IGA Airport (including a $29.1 billion concession fee to the government), and the $6.4 billion Gebze-İzmir Motorway, which is expected to cut the travel time between Istanbul and the Aegean city of İzmir dramatically. 

Though on par with the previous year, global private infrastructure investment in 2015 was 10 percent lower than the previous five-year average because of dwindling commitments in China, Brazil, and India, according to the statement. 

Brazil in particular saw only $4.5 billion in investments, sharply declining from $47.2 billion in 2014 and reversing a trend of growing investments over the last five years. 

“Though these three historical heavyweights amassed 44 percent of all global projects, their combined investment was only 10 percent of the total compared to 54 percent in 2014,” noted the World Bank 

“The data finds that investments in other emerging economies increased rapidly to $99.9 billion, representing a 92 percent year-over-year increase,” said Clive Harris, Practice Manager, Public-Private Partnerships, World Bank Group. 

“Eleven of these countries committed at least $1 billion in 2015, well above previous years with several countries reemerging from a two-year or more hiatus to include El Salvador, Georgia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Uganda, and Zambia. Regionally, private infrastructure investments stepped up in Africa and Europe and Central Asia but fell behind in East Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia,” added Harris.

Turkey tops in ‘mega project commitment’ 

Project sizes have also become larger over the last four years, with the highest ever average size of $419.3 million in 2015, according to the World Bank. 

“In fact, megadeals ruled in 2015, with a record 40 projects exceeding $500 million in total. The top five countries with the highest investments in 2015, respectively, were Turkey, Colombia, Peru, the Philippines, and Brazil, garnering $74 billion or 66 percent of global commitments in the developing world,” it added. 

Solar energy investments also climbed 72 percent higher than the last five-year average, while renewables attracted nearly two-thirds of investments with private participation, said the statement. 

Renewables jumped ahead in 2015 as private infrastructure investments in solar energy swelled to $9.4 billion, 72 percent higher than the last five years. Renewables on the whole made up 63 percent of global investment, signaling greater adoption of wind, hydro, and geothermal power. 

The transport sector took in the highest commitment of $69.9 billion, or 63 percent of global investment, followed by energy at 34 percent and water at 4 percent. Out of 300 projects in 2015, energy captured the most with 205 projects, well ahead of transport with 55 projects and water and sewerage with 40 projects.

Covering the period from 1990 to 2015, the database reviews over 8,000 projects across 139 low- and middle-income economies and provides a rich source of data on private infrastructure investment in emerging markets.

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