Poverty Reduction Will Suffer Unless Infrastructure Development Increases, ADB President Tells Manila Workshop

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (15 January 2004) - Unless infrastructure development is increased considerably, economic growth and poverty reduction efforts will suffer in many countries in East Asia, ADB President Tadao Chino told a workshop that opened in Manila today.

"The efficient provision of appropriate infrastructure strengthens economies, creates new opportunities, and helps reduce poverty," Mr. Chino said in opening remarks to the Planning Workshop, Infrastructure in East Asia: The Way Forward.

"Conversely, inadequate or poorly planned infrastructure can lead to missed opportunities for growth and development."

He added that the workshop represents an important step in a joint effort to ensure the future prosperity and development of East Asia and the Pacific.

The two-day planning workshop kicks off a yearlong progress of analysis and consultations for an East Asia Infrastructure Study being undertaken jointly by ADB, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and World Bank.

The workshop will examine the major issues and themes to be covered in the study and solicit the views of technical experts and stakeholders attending from government, academe, civil society, business, financing institutions, and donor agencies.

"A key challenge as the study takes shape will be to identify innovative financing mechanisms to meet the ever-increasing requirements for infrastructure investments," Mr. Chino added.

He said East Asia's infrastructure investment needs for new assets and maintenance of existing assets are huge and growing, approaching 6-7% of gross domestic product, or US$180 billion, annually for 2005-2010. This compares with actual investments of about only 4% of GDP prior to 1994, and much lower rates in recent years.

"It is almost overdue that we all get together and start this joint study, for the first time in our history, to seek for a new balanced approach and strategy to the provision of infrastructure in this region..." Toru Tokuhisa, Director General of the JBIC Institute told the meeting.

"We have an expectation out of this joint study that it will provide a major platform for the efficient platform for the efficient provision of infrastructure of the region through effective and adequate partnership between public and private sectors."

The partnership between the three agencies working on the study reflects the importance attached to the topic, added Christian Delvoie, Director of the World Bank's Infrastructure Unit for the East Asia and Pacific Region.

"Some of you may be concerned that this will lead to the three institutions 'ganging up' on borrowing countries..." he said. "Others, who know us better, will know how improbable that is ... we want to make this a study that reflects the views of different countries and different perspectives from across the region."

The workshop will cover three major themes

• The role of infrastructure in supporting growth and poverty reduction
• Lessons learned from experience, especially on the roles of public and private sectors
• Future trends affecting infrastructure development in East Asia.

It is the first in a series of meetings aimed at soliciting views on the intermediate and final outcomes of the study.