The Hindu Business Line : Infrastructure: Asian region mulls independent financing body

New Delhi March 23 The Asian and Pacific countries will set up a Committee of Senior Officials to study the feasibility of evolving an independent financing institution for infrastructure financing in the region, which remains under-invested.

This was the broad conclusion of a High-Level Policy Dialogue on Regional Cooperation for Infrastructure Development and Financing in the Asia-Pacific in which 100 government ministers, officials and academicians and private sector CEOs from 20 countries took part.

The conference was jointly organised by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Research and Information System (RIS) for Developing Countries.

Addressing a joint press conference with the RIS Director-General, Dr Nagesh Kumar, the Executive Secretary and Under-Secretary General, UNESCAP, Mr Kim Hak Su, said the proposed Committee of Senior Officials would review the options for infrastructure financing in the region and make recommendations to a Ministerial Committee through a resolution in the forthcoming 63rd session of the UNESCAP Commission, to be held during May 17 and 23, 2007 in Kazakhstan.

An Expert Group comprising central bankers, investment bankers and economists would also be set up soon to provide technical support to the Committee of Senior Officials.

Pat for India

Mr Kim lauded the lead role India is playing in promoting a regional solution to the most important barrier to development.

He said studies done by both ESCAP and RIS converged on the fact that the region needs an annual investment of about $600 billion in transport, energy, water and telecommunications. But there is a shortfall of more than $200 billion annually.

Hence, he said, the need for drawing up some innovative financing mechanism for infrastructure development.

Dr Nagesh Kumar said that for the past few years, RIS has been studying the relevance of broader regional cooperation in Asia and has evolved a proposal of a broader Asian economic community in concert with thinktanks of other Asian countries.

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