The annual investment demand for the Belt and Road Initiative will be as high as US$1.7 trillion over the upcoming 15 years, said Luky Eko Wuryanto, vice president and chief administration officer of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at the 2nd Belt and Road Summit which was held in Hong Kong recently.
Environmentally-friendly, high-quality projects which are conducive to sustainable economic growth and thus are highly valued by society will be the primary targets of investment, according to Wuryanto.
It is estimated that the Asian population will hit 3.05 billion in 2050, more than a half of the world population. Energy and transportation will consume the major part of the investment.
According to Wuryanto, no single organization could provide such a huge investment, that’s why the AIIB emphasizes cooperation. Through which, new infrastructure can be built to better cope with the future environmental standards and the challenges posed by increasing populations.
If higher standards are adopted during the development of the Belt and Road, the cost of the infrastructure development will decrease by 20 to 30 percent.
The AIIB has so far approved 18 investment projects with a total investment of US$3 billion.