President Biden announced on Sunday that the U.S. will mobilize $200bn dollars of investment in global infrastructure projects in the next five years, as part of an effort by the world’s leading democratic economies to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
For nearly a decade, China has been focused on bridges, road, mining and other hard infrastructure projects in the developing world, which has been estimated at $1 trillion in total spending, though the true amount could be higher. The G7 initiative is funding projects in four major categories: clean energy, health systems, gender equality and information and communications technology.
Investments include the following:
- $2 billion for a solar project in Angola, including solar mini-grids, home power kits and solar to power telecommunications
- $600 million for a U.S. company to build a submarine telecommunications cable that will connect Singapore to France through Egypt and the Horn of Africa, delivering high speed internet
- Up to $50 million from the U.S. to the World Bank’s Childcare Incentive Fund, which is also getting support from Canada, Australia and numerous foundations
- $3.3 million in technical assistance from the U.S. to the Institut Pasteur de Dakar for development of an industrial-scale, multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Senegal that could produce COVID-19 vaccines and others, in partnership with other G7 nations and the EU
Read more: GPB
