Investment commitments to newinfrastructure projects with private participation (PPIprojects) reaching closure in developing countries grew by15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with thesame period of 2008-and by 15 percent in 2009 as a whole.These growth rates indicate a strong recovery from the 45percent drop in investment commitments in the second half of2008 compared with the same period of 2007. But investmentcontinued to grow selectively, concentrated in large energyprojects in a few countries-Brazil, China, India, andTurkey. The crisis continues to affect new PPI activity.Some planned projects are still being delayed, restructured,or, to a lesser extent, canceled. Transport continues to bethe most affected sector, Europe and Central Asia the mostaffected region, and low-income countries the most affectedcountry income group. Despite the more difficultenvironment, developing country governments remain committedto their public-private partnership (PPP) programs, asconfirmed by the number of new projects that were beingtendered, awarded, or restructured in the fourth quarter of2009. Commercial bank lending remains constrained, and thechoices of investors and financiers continue to reflect the'flight to quality.' For projects able to raisefinancing, the conditions are more stringent, with a highercost of debt, lower debt/equity ratios, shorter tenors, andmore conservative structures. But the impact of the crisishas varied across countries, depending on whether there isan active local financial market and whether the governmenthas taken proactive measures to foster liquidity.
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