for their tropical climates and beachfront views, but
the region is poised to become more than a cruise
ship port of call. Amid global economic shifts and
struggles, these developing nations see an opportunity to spur growth. But before it can position itself
as a blooming business environment, the Caribbean
must upgrade its aging energy, water and transportation infrastructure.
Covering more than a million square miles ( 2. 6
million square kilometers), the Caribbean is home to
7,000 islands and islets. Its states range in size from
the tiny islands of Montserrat and Anguilla, with
populations in the thousands, to the larger land-masses of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic,
which boast more than 10 million residents each.
The Bahamas
and Puerto Rico
rank among the
wealthiest Caribbean
economies, thanks to their
respective tourism and manufacturing industries, while Jamaica
is among the poorest, partly because
of its reliance on agriculture.
But even the region’s wealthiest nations
are struggling to elevate their public infrastructure to global standards. Vulnerability to economic
and climate shocks, coupled with high project
development costs, limited talent pools and slow
economic growth, have made it difficult for Caribbean countries to make the intensive investments
required.
“We are hopelessly behind when it comes to
infrastructure,” says Brian Samuel, public-private
partnership (PPP) coordinator for the Caribbean
Development Bank (CDB) in St. Michael, Barbados.
“Energy costs are enormous, our road networks are
terrible and the public sector doesn’t have the money
or capacity to manage these projects effectively.”
In 2014, CDB determined that the Caribbean would
need an investment of US$30 billion over 10 years to
modernize its energy, transportation and other infra-
structure—and that’s far more than the governments
have to spend, Mr. Samuel says. “There is a lot of room
for private investment in the region.”
Mr. Samuel’s team has been pushing for more
PPPs to support infrastructure development in
the region. This would be helpful, as PPPs often
deliver infrastructure projects faster and at a lower
cost than traditional government projects, he says.
The lack of project
management maturity
in the region makes it
especially difficult for
Caribbean countries
to streamline their
infrastructure
development
processes.
