Towards being a global infrastructure hub

THERE is a universal need for continued investment in both greenfield and ageing infrastructure - commerce and industry need transport infrastructure, energy and utilities and logistics networks while taxpayers require fresh water, healthcare and education provision from either public or private sectors. Without this infrastructure, economic growth is unachievable.

Very few, if any, governments, have the necessary capital to be able to pay for all of the infrastructure needs to futureproof our economies and society. As a result, most aim to use both public and private capital to finance these significant expenditures - and Singapore is no different.

In his Budget speech this year, Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat made two important points to infrastructure players here and in the region. Firstly, that Singapore will set up a new Infrastructure Office to tap opportunities in the region, and secondly that the government has decided on a "save and borrow" approach to fund some of the big infrastructure projects that Singapore will be undertaking over the next ten years.