Assessing mega infrastructure initiatives and the Asian Development Bank in financing Asian infrastructure

Infrastructure development is recognized as an important factor in Asia’s economic miracle, particularly the transformation of East Asia into a global factory. With Asian economies increasingly integrated, investing in regional infrastructure will inevitably occupy a pivotal role in Asia’s post-pandemic economic recovery. This chapter examines major issues and challenges in Asia’s infrastructure space and the ADB’s role. (1) It explores the historic role of infrastructure in facilitating Asia’s economic miracle and emerging regionalism. (2) It examines residual issues in Asian infrastructure such as variable infrastructure quality, impediments to regional infrastructure projects, and the region’s large infrastructure financing gap. (3) It looks at the contribution of mega infrastructure initiatives (e.g., China’s Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, and Japan’s Partnership for Quality Infrastructure, PQI) to closing Asia’s infrastructure financing gap. (4) It assesses the effectiveness of ADB as a financier of regional infrastructure projects through comparisons with other multilateral development banks (MDBs) such as the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It concludes by distilling key lessons from Asia’s infrastructure experience and the ADB’s role in supporting post-pandemic economic recovery.