Transport and mobility have a huge impact on productivity and competitiveness.
Vehicle traffic, the pollution of cities, and the congestion and saturation of passenger and cargo transport infrastructure have a negative impact on quality of life in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The private sector plays a leading role when it comes to improving transport systems in the region.
In urban areas the quality of public transport systems is poor, and they cannot adequately meet demand. Old buses pollute cities with serious consequences for the health of their inhabitants and the environment. Rural areas are not well connected and, as a result, their inhabitants lose out on job opportunities and cannot access basic services such as education and health. Roads with design and maintenance issues cause accidents. The poor quality and limited capacity of transport infrastructure have a negative impact on the prices of products and services. In an increasingly globalized world, all these problems affect the region's competitiveness and, therefore, its ability to grow and foster well-being.
Latin America and the Caribbean needs to modernize its transportation systems to increase growth. According to IDB calculations, the region needs to double its infrastructure investments over the next 30 years to increase average growth from 2.4% to 5.0%. Transport infrastructure depends on public administration; but fiscal constraints, economies of scale, and the need to innovate compel governments to seek partnerships with the private sector to undertake such a major investment.
We rely on our longstanding and extensive track record financing the expansion of transport infrastructure in the region.
We support the construction and modernization of transport infrastructure and services such as ports, roads, airports, subways, and railroads. We have the technical experience and the necessary financial resources to guarantee that our projects are sustainable and have a positive impact on the region's development.
The projects we finance are usually implemented through public-private partnerships (PPPs) with private companies bearing the initial costs and sharing the risks, management responsibility, and potential future profits. The IDB Group works to make PPPs efficient with a solid regulatory framework, a transparent tendering process, and a stable financial structure.
We not only ensure the financial viability of each project but also the long-term social and economic impact. We consider environmental and social aspects, gender equality, climate change, and corporate governance.