Infrastructure Asia (IA), a platform set up by Enterprise Singapore and Singapore's Central Bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), last week, launched an infrastructure project online portal, namely Infra Asia Project Portal that connects government, developers, and financiers.

A look at the project currently listed on the portal reveals that there are 11 infrastructure projects listed with a value exceeding $2.7 billion, which include seven water and sanitation-related projects, two associated with logistics, and two with rail transportation projects.

Of the 11 projects listed, five are in Indonesia, two each in Cambodia and Philippines, and one each in Vietnam and India. The project from India that is on the portal is the New Delhi Railway Redevelopment Project Stage 2.

The other projects on the portal include $810.38 million Bandung Metropolitan Urban Railway Project in Indonesia, Phnom Penh City Solid Waste Collection and Transportation in Cambodia, Ormoc City Water Supply System Stage -2 in Philippines and Vinh Phuc ICD Logistics Centre in Vietnam.

Background

The portal was formally announced at the Asian Infrastructure Forum on 2 August by Singapore's Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah.

According to information on IA’s website, Singapore, with an established ecosystem of various private sector firms including developers, engineering firms, procurement companies, construction firms, professional service providers, financial institutions, and multilateral development banks working together with public sector agencies, is in a unique position to serve Asia's infrastructure needs and unlock the region's infrastructure potential.

However, the costs involved in searching for solution providers and partners are very high. "So, there was a need for a platform that was neutral, a platform that has some level of independence and more importantly, a platform that can do some curation," said Lavan Thiru, Executive Director of Infrastructure Asia.

IA would connect with Singapore’s ecosystem via this portal to support efforts in contributing to infrastructure opportunities in Asia. Project owners can list the project requirements on the platform and interested parties, such as solution providers or financiers, can access project details including its value, owner, and developers.

The new online project portal serves as a marketplace for various parties interested in developing infrastructure projects in Asia and also to surface the region's infrastructure project pipeline.

Thiru said that Infrastructure Asia will select projects to list on the portal based on whether they are marginally bankable, and are in sectors where Singapore or Singapore-based companies have expertise in.