6 October 2016: Officials from the UN and regional development banks introduced government delegates to INFRALATAM, a database on infrastructure investments in Latin America and the Caribbean, developed jointly by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

The UN Regional Commissions New York Office organized a briefing on INFRALATAM for Member States at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 6 October 2016. Amr Nour, UN Regional Commissions, said INFRALATAM seeks to: measure infrastructure investments in LAC countries, including on water and sanitation, energy, irrigation, telecommunications and transportation; assess their value; disseminate results among all parties concerned; and analyze their impacts. He noted that infrastructure is the subject of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation), and is also reflected in other SDGs.

Ancor Suárez, IDB, said a beta version of INFRALATAM was released on 30 August 2016, and the database is a “living platform” and open to comments, stressing the importance of country ownership. Suárez reported that the first phase of the initiative targeted 15 LAC countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay), a second phase should include seven additional countries in the region, and a third phase should comprise all LAC countries.

Ricardo Sánchez, ECLAC, noted that the low level of infrastructure investments in Latin America and the Caribbean holds back economic development, and the SDGs will not be reached with the current level of infrastructure investment. He reported that a majority of investments in the region are not directed towards combating climate change or achieving the SDGs, adding that infrastructure investments that foster sustainable development are often viewed as more costly, but this is not necessarily true. He also stressed the importance of public-private partnerships (PPPs), and called for rethinking “the spirit” of PPPs, to focus on providing public goods, not only profitability.

Participants at the briefing noted the importance of: data reliability; investing not only more but “better,” in order to enhance the quality of infrastructure in the region; using different sources of investment to fill the financing gap, including insurance companies and pension funds; and ensuring that investments are directed towards the SDGs and target sustainable and reliable infrastructure. [INFRALATAM] [Briefing Programme] [IISD RS Sources]