Portugal, Angola, and Brazil are the Portuguese-speaking countries most ranked in the Chinese infrastructure index

In general terms, all eight Portuguese-speaking countries moved up in the 2022 ‘ranking’ of the Infrastructure Development Index “One Belt, One Road”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the initiative in 2013, involving 71 countries in Beijing’s international strategic plan to develop maritime, road, and rail links and energy resources investment.

In the ranking led by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, Brazil (12th) is the best-placed Portuguese-speaking country.

It is followed, among the Portuguese-speaking countries, by Angola (22nd), Portugal (28th), Cape Verde (53rd), Mozambique (54th), East Timor (63rd), São Tomé and Príncipe (69th), and Guinea-Bissau (70th).

The index assesses the environment, demand, receptivity, and costs for infrastructure development in these 71 countries.

The higher the score, the better the outlook for a country’s infrastructure industry, and the more attractive it is for companies to engage in investment, construction, and operations in this area in those territories.

From the perspective of the Chinese report among the Portuguese-speaking countries, Portugal has the best score in the sub-index of development associated with the environment, aggregating political, economic, sovereignty, market impact factors, and business and industrial scenarios.

Portugal is also the best placed among Portuguese-speaking countries in the sub-index related to costs, operations, and financing.

Angola is the one that stands out in the demand sub-index, which combines factors such as demand and market potential.

Brazil leads among Portuguese-speaking countries in the sub-index dedicated to local receptivity and short-term enthusiasm for infrastructure investment, calculated, for example, based on the value of new contracts.

Overall, the report notes a “slight recovery” in the index, “thanks to higher demand and enthusiasm/receptivity for infrastructure construction in the 71 countries.”

Still, “swings in high-power relationships, setbacks in global economic recovery, and the slow exit from the covid-19 pandemic since the beginning of the year have cast a cloud over the future of infrastructure,” it pointed out.

“One strategy for international infrastructure stakeholders is to seize the opportunities brought by the new round of technological revolution and energy transition, adapt to the “new normal” of epidemic prevention and control, and pursue high-level, sustainable, people-centered progress,” the report concludes.

The report also notes that the “One Belt, One Road” initiative is facing “challenges such as scarcity of funds, rising costs, security risks and environmental degradation” and that “in the short term, the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and recurring outbreaks of covid-19 will disrupt international infrastructure cooperation and slow recovery and development.”

The paper’s authors warned that the “rising prices of key commodities, intermediate goods, and international shipping will further increase the costs of infrastructure construction” and that “the global environment for infrastructure financing may continue to deteriorate as the economic policies of some developed countries will make life more difficult for the developing world.”

And, “in the long term, major power games, climate change, and global economic imbalance will add uncertainty to regional and international infrastructure development.”

Against this backdrop, “for infrastructure associated with ‘One Belt, One Road’, high-quality development remains a distant future,” the report warns.

The document was presented at the International Forum on Infrastructure Investment and Construction. At the event’s opening, the deputy to China’s Minister of Commerce, Li Fei, informed that the country invested this year overseas US$178.8 billion.

With information from Lusa