Pakistan has entered the list of the top five recipients of Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) investment after receiving $3.9 billion, notes World Bank Group report. According to the Bank report, "PPI half year (Jan-June) update", Indonesia was the destination for highest investment by value ($7.8 billion), while Pakistan ($3.9 billion) and Jordan ($2.2 billion) were new entrants joining Indonesia, Brazil, and China. One-third of the H1 2017 global investment was accounted for by only five projects in these three countries.
Indonesia saw investments of $4.2 billion and $2.2 billion coal fired power plants, Jordan had a $2.1 billion investment in an oil shale-fired power plant, and Pakistan had investments in two hydropower plants worth $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion. H1 2017 investment in South Asia (SAR) has already reached the full-year 2016 level, driven by the financial closure of two power mega projects in Pakistan - the Suki Kinari Hydropower Plant worth $1.9 billion and the Karot Hydropower Plant worth $1.7 billion.
The top five countries with the highest amount of investments in H1 2017, in order of investment level, were Indonesia with six projects, Brazil with 21 projects, Pakistan with three projects, China with 36 projects, and Jordan with two.
The report states that PPI investment in IDA countries in H1 2017 has already reached 70 percent of the entire full-year 2016 investment volume. The share of global PPI investment accounted for by IDA countries has risen from four percent in 2016, to six percent in H1 2017, with investments of US$2.1 billion committed to 15 projects in 10 countries. This compares to 14 projects in six countries in full-year 2016. Pakistan was the only blended country to receive PPI investment in H1 2017.
Energy was the most dominant sector for H1 2017 investment, accounting for three-quarters of global investments. The sector has also been experiencing a gradually-increasing share of overall investment since 2015. Within the energy sector, Indonesia received the largest volume of PPI investment, followed by Brazil, Pakistan, and Jordan. Multi-billion dollar projects are fueling stronger private sector investment in infrastructure projects in developing countries, which increased by 24 percent from 2016 levels, reflecting US$36.7 billion across 132 projects, said the report.
Although the growth of larger-sized projects is contributing to improved figures for the first half of 2017, investment levels remain 15 percent lower than the half-year averages of the past five years, the report concluded.