The World Bank on Tuesday praised Turkey for successful completion of its multi-billion dollar projects in 2015, making it the largest absorber of global investment.
Turkey has completed seven megaprojects last year at a record $44.7 billion, setting a higher standard, the bank said in a written statement regarding to Private Sector Involvement in Infrastructural Projects.
It highlighted that Turkey absorbed 40 percent of global investment in infrastructure development with two megaprojects; Istanbul's third airport project and the Northern Marmara Highway project.
As global private infrastructure investment remains steady at $111.6 billion, Turkey raised the bar with the financial closure for almost half of this investment, the statement read.
It specifically mentioned Istanbul's $35.6 billion third airport (including a $29.1 billion concession fee to the government), and the $6.4 billion Gebze-Izmir Motorway, which is expected to cut the travel time between Istanbul and the Aegean city of Izmir dramatically.
Project sizes have also become larger over the last four years, with the highest-ever average size of $419.3 million reached in 2015, according to the World Bank.
“In fact, megadeals ruled in 2015, with a record 40 projects exceeding $500 million in total. The top five countries with the highest investments in 2015, respectively, were Turkey, Colombia, Peru, the Philippines, and Brazil, garnering $74 billion or 66 percent of global commitments in the developing world," it added.
The World Bank also highlighted the volume of investment in solar energy and renewable energies.
Solar energy investments also climbed 72 percent higher than the last five-year average, while renewables attracted nearly two-thirds of investments with private participation, said the statement.
Renewables jumped ahead in 2015 as private infrastructure investments in solar energy swelled to $9.4 billion, 72 percent higher than the last five years. Renewables on the whole made up 63 percent of global investment, signaling greater adoption of wind, hydro, and geothermal power.
According to a data released by the Bank, the transport sector took in the highest commitment of $69.9 billion, or 63 percent of global investment, followed by energy at 34 percent and water at 4 percent.
Of 300 projects in 2015, energy captured the most with 205 projects, well ahead of transport with 55 projects and water and sewerage with 40 projects.
Covering the period from 1990 to 2015, the database reviews over 8,000 projects across 139 low- and middle-income economies and provides a rich source of data on private infrastructure investment in emerging markets.
