The World Bank is seeking to help developing countries find money for infrastructure projects with a platform that aims to make them attractive to investors such as pension funds.
The so-called Global Infrastructure Facility was signed in Washington on Thursday with other development banks, governments, private equity firms, and pension and insurance funds, the World Bank said in a news release. It will focus on preparing projects rather than on financing them directly.
“We have several trillions of dollars in assets represented today looking for long-term, sustainable and stable investments,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in the statement. “The real challenge is not a matter of money but a lack of bankable projects — a sufficient supply of commercially viable and sustainable infrastructure investments.”
The World Bank, which follows a goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030, estimates that developing countries need at least another $1 trillion a year in infrastructure investment through 2020.
