With infrastructure needs both huge an estimated $8 trillion between 2010 and 2020 and urgent across developing Asia, it is critical to find solutions, and soon.

But we must find the right solutions.

There are six key issues to bear in mind on what kind of infrastructure we build, and how we finance and build it. At its most basic, infrastructure development is not just a question about quantitative provision, but also one of environmental and social co-benefits.

Infrastructure provision comes with externalities, which requires decision-makers to strike a balance between meeting rising infrastructure demands and ensuring equitable solutions.

With the objective of achieving inclusive growth, a basic needs approach should inform infrastructure provision, as it can enable access and affordability of, for instance, water, electricity, and transport infrastructure and services.

In addition to the physical infrastructure itself, effective operation.