The Infrastructure sector is facing an investment gap at the global level, as the need for modernized infrastructure is increasing. With the investment needs and climate changes, the investors, governments, and other stakeholders need to understand the global research and what the sector really needs.
Global Research on Infrastructure Funding
Infrastructure is the backbone of development, as it ensures people have access to various facilities, like quality roads, clean drinking water, living space, and others. Thus, this sector must continue to grow sustainably for the betterment of society, the world economy, and the environment.
Many world organizations have studied the current trends of the global infrastructure and forecasted the financial growth, issues, and operations. The Global Infrastructure Hub 2024 report states some major findings and trends, such as that private investment is growing.
Global research from the leading organizations has concluded that the global infrastructure deficit is growing, and the world will need 3.5% of global GDP annually, around $4.2 trillion every year, to meet the infrastructure needs in the next decade.
Important Research from the organization on global Infrastructure finance
To understand the global infrastructure finance state and future possibilities, you should know what the global research is saying about it. You can check the major reports and facts from the leading organizations below:
- World Bank:
- The World Bank releases the report on infrastructure finance, reporting that the infrastructure gap is increasing, affecting 3.4 billion people who can’t access safe sanitation, 666 million people who do not have access to electricity, 2.6 billion people who are not yet connected digitally, and 2.1 billion people who still lack drinking water.
- The report says the infrastructure gap is increasing in the low- and middle-income countries as they would need $1.5 trillion each year to improve their infrastructure.
- The world needs sustainable infrastructure to meet the increasing climate change risks and reduce its impact to stop the loss of infrastructure.
- Global Infrastructure Hub:
- The GI Hub researches the global infrastructure through the Infrastructure Monitor each year and reports the changing trends for each year.
- The GI Hub states that by 2040, the global infrastructure would need more than 50 trillion dollars in investment to meet the demands for climate-resilient, sustainable, and effective infrastructure.
- The GI Hub researchers say the infrastructure finances need to include climate adaptation in their financial model and gather investment.
- The GI Hub indicated that infrastructure finance trends towards the private investment segment the most.
- CBRE Infrastructure Quarterly Q2 2025:
- The CBRE Investment Management releases the infrastructure quarterly report based on the global trends and infrastructure markets.
- The listed infrastructure (public infrastructure) has outperformed the public equities in the 2025 first quarter with 660 basis points related to the MSCI World Index.
- The private infrastructure has shown stable returns of 8 to 11% in the current global scenarios.
- The report forecasted the shift towards renewable energy generation in the coming years as the world is becoming conscious about climate change.
Financial Models Trending Globally for Infrastructure
According to the global research, the major financial models for infrastructure that are trending worldwide are as follows:
- Private Investment: The private entities invest in the infrastructure in return for the great investment benefits and generate profit from the infrastructure. As per the June 2024 report, the global infrastructure private investment is estimated to be around $1.3 trillion.
- Public Sector investment: The public sector remains the largest investor in the infrastructure, as the government and other public organizations continue to invest in the infrastructure through bonds, green bonds, public funds, and various grants & programs.
- BOT: The Build-Operate-Transfer model is quite popular in various developing countries, where the private companies build the infrastructure, operate it for some period, and then eventually hand it over to the government.
- PPP: The public-private partnership model is getting popular in the global infrastructure in countries like the US, UK, Germany, and others, where the private and public sectors collaborate, sharing the risks, investment, and benefits from the infrastructure.
- Blended Finance: This finance model combines development aid, public investment, or private investment to finance long-term infrastructure projects.
What are the global initiatives for the Global Infrastructure?
The leading global organizations have taken the initiative to support the global infrastructure and deal with the investment deficit; here, we have pointed out some of the initiatives:
- WB Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility: World Bank initiatives to support governments with public-private partnerships and strengthen the regulations and institutions for sustainable infrastructure development.
- PPP Legal Resource Center: The World Bank offers a legal resource center for government officials, lawyers, and project managers dealing with the PPP model, and unlocks the advantages of the PPP model.
- Belt and Road Initiative: The Chinese initiative, Belt and Road Initiative, promotes infrastructure and connectivity across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
- Global Infrastructure Facility: It is a G20 initiative to provide funding, advisory, and a collaborative platform to various countries and support them with government and development banks.
The Global infrastructure lacks funds for the increasing demand of the sector for climate-resilient and sustainable infrastructure that can withstand future risks and reduce maintenance costs.
