DEVELOPMENT IMPACT, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION: POSSIBLE WAY-FORWARD FOR THE BRICS-LED NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK

The BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB) stated commitment to infrastructure and sustainable development financing is perhaps the single-most important feature that differentiates it from other existing Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). In the absence of a clear definition and criteria to qualify the very notion of “sustainable infrastructure”, however, it will be challenging for the NDB to designate infrastructure as sustainable and realize its vision around sustainable development. This paper argues that the NDB is presented with an opportunity to define sustainable infrastructure and pioneer a new approach to development financing. It further suggests that the NDB should look into developing public-private partnerships and regional integration projects as options going forward. This approach would equip the NDB with the necessary policy tools to fully articulate its mandate and carve out a niche for itself in the development finance landscape.