New Report Highlights Advances in Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Infrascopio is a report and tool developed by Economist Impact, the analysis unit of The Economist Group, and commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
• This diagnostic tool evaluates the capacity of countries to develop efficient, sustainable Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with an emphasis on impact, using more than 100 indicators.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in collaboration with Economist Impact, today launched a new edition of Infrascopio, which highlights advances in infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The tool and report analyzes the progress of PPP programs in countries in the region, which enable the development of efficient, sustainable, and inclusive infrastructures and have made significant strides in strengthening the regulatory frameworks and institutions.

According to the IDB, infrastructure gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean exceed $250 billion annually. In the current challenging macroeconomic context, it is crucial for both the public and private sectors to jointly seize investment opportunities to address these challenges more efficiently and innovatively.

The evolution and sophistication of PPP environments and markets have led both institutions to undertake a significant methodological update on Infrascopio´s the 15th anniversary, addressing cutting-edge topics such as resilience, inclusion, performance measurement, and impact evaluation. It also includes new sectors such as social infrastructure and expands coverage to the 26 borrowing countries of the IDB.

According to the report, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress in implementing PPPs in infrastructure but still have a great opportunity to drive further improvements that benefit their citizens.

The region has attracted more than $760 billion private capital towards private infrastructure in the last 30 years, making it crucial to continue strengthening the region's capacity for developing more efficient and sustainable PPPs.

Key Findings of Infrascopio 2023/2024:

Brazil and Chile continue to lead the region with an outstanding performance, followed by well-established markets such as Colombia, Uruguay, and Peru. Infrascopio also highlights efforts of countries that have worked on strengthening their regulatory or institutional frameworks, such as Jamaica with its focus on sustainability; Panama with its project preparation strengthening; Paraguay with its first projects under the new PPP framework; Ecuador with its planning and prioritization methodologies; and Belize and Suriname with their recent PPP policies.

Infrascopio presents several key findings on the state of PPPs in Latin America and the Caribbean:

• Investment in PPP infrastructure has increased by more than 15% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the number of projects by more than 25% since the 2021/2022 edition .
• Institutional capacity to support PPPs remains a critical and persistent challenge across the region. PPP agencies are fully operational in only half of the 26 countries in the region.
• Most countries in the region can systematically learn from past experiences through evaluation exercises. This process could contribute to their capacity to develop higher-impact projects.
• The incorporation of sustainability criteria in PPP frameworks remains a gap that can be reduced.

To access and learn more about Infrascopio, the country rankings, and the environment of public-private partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Visit the Infrascopio website

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