Infrastructure in the comprehensive development of Latin America: strategic diagnosis and proposals for a priority agenda

In coming decades, Latin America will have the opportunity of consolidating its progress toward comprehensive development. However, this paper argues this will be confirmed only if countries are able to achieve just and equitable societies that promote opportunities and inclusion, and a more diversified insertion in the world economy with greater value added.

The author thinks that to confront these challenges, there need to be substantial improvements in a number of factors such as education, innovation capacity, the quality of institutions, and the quality of infrastructure and its associated services. However, the document notices that infrastructure in Latin America lags behind that of other regions of the world and the lags are more acute in some sectors and countries.

Conclusions contain:

• the strategic agenda for infrastructure in Latin American countries must be based on an understanding of the situation of the infrastructure sectors to extend and improve their services
• investment efforts in infrastructure must be aimed at increasing the coverage and quality of water and sanitation services, promoting and supporting urban public transportation and developing infrastructure for regional integration
• the main required elements are financing, improvements in policies, and an adequate consideration of environmental and social aspects
• the use of multiple financing sources and modalities should be optimised, the use of infrastructure should be rationalised, and the capacity for project preparation in the short term should be strengthened
• the exchange between governments, regions, and cities should be promoted – the region’s bilateral and multilateral fora constitute valuable initiatives in this direction