Actualités

Avril 2025
IMD World Competitiveness Center (175 pages).

2025 has barely gotten underway and yet significant trade tensions, policy shifts, and weakened business and consumer confidence appear to have set the tone for the year. The aggressive trade stance adopted by the United States – which notably includes substantial tariff hikes on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada – has, as we know, triggered retaliatory measures, re-escalating trade wars. In 2018, during his first term, President Trump started increasing tariffs on goods from China -first on “only” 8% of Chinese exports but covering over 66% by early 2020.
While the extent, magnitude, and duration of current tariff increases remain uncertain, past lessons from the 2018 US-China trade war suggest that the direct participants will all experience economic losses (Caliendo and Parro, 2023), while the impact on other economies will be more difficult to predict; there may be some winners – especially in Southeast Asia where production can be more easily relocated (Fajgelbaum et al., 2024).
Inflationary pressures remain a concern, particularly in industries heavily reliant on imported materials, such as construction. Higher tariffs on steel (and potentially lumber) are expected to increase development costs, putting further stress on an already-constrained housing supply.
Making housing more affordable is the top priority for most of the respondents of the 2025 IMD Smart City Survey. In 110 out of 146 cities, affordable housing is mentioned as a priority by at least half of the respondents in the city. The issue is particularly felt in Dublin or Vancouver, where about 90% of the IMD Smart City Survey respondents expressed concern over housing affordability. Respondents in the Middle East agree: about 80% of respondents from AlUla or Dubai identify affordable housing as a priority area.

Avril 2025
Banque Européenne d'Investissement (50 pages).

A majority of municipalities and cities plan to boost investment in climate measures and social infrastructure over the next three years. 56% of municipalities plan to significantly increase investment in climate change mitigation, while 53% plan to raise investment in social infrastructure.
A lack of finance and burdensome regulations often slow or stall municipal investments. Nearly two-thirds of municipalities have difficulties finding finance for investments, and almost half cite lengthy regulatory processes a problem.
A large and growing share of municipalities and cities say EU financial support is critical to financing future infrastructure investments. For planned investment projects, 83% of municipalities say EU grants will provide most of the funding, while 74% plan to use government transfers.

Mars 2025
EPEC, European PPP Expertise Centre (20 pages).

In 2024, 39 public-private partnership transactions reached financial close for an aggregate value of €11.47 billion.
The value of the market decreased by 17%, compared to 2023.
The number of projects reaching financial close increased by 2.6%, with 39 projects in 2024 vs. 38 in 2023.
Greece was the largest market by value, while Belgium led in the number of projects.
11 countries closed at least one public-private partnership project, compared to 13 in 2023.
Transport was the largest sector by value.
Education was the largest sector by number of projects.
Over 61% of the transactions closed were government-pay public-private partnerships.

Mars 2025
UNEP, Programme pour l'Environnement des Nations Unies (94 pages).

The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024-2025 - Not just another brick in the wall highlights progress made on related global climate goals and calls for greater ambition on six challenges, including building energy codes, renewable energy, and financing. Global frameworks and initiatives such as Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate, the Buildings Breakthrough and the Declaration de Chaillot are sustaining momentum towards adopting ambitious climate action plans, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), for net-zero buildings ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil.
Despite this progress, the sector remains a key driver of the climate crisis, consuming 32 per cent of global energy and contributing to 34 per cent of global CO2 emissions. The sector is dependent on materials like cement and steel that are responsible for 18% of global emissions and are a major source of construction waste.
This report underscores the urgency of harmonizing building codes, scaling low-carbon materials, increasing equitable access to green financing and incentivizing circular construction. Workforce development programmes must also prioritize filling skill gaps while fostering gender diversity in green construction leadership roles. Moreover, stronger global coordination and accountability mechanisms such as the G20’s Voluntary Action Plan to double energy efficiency by 2030 are critical to accelerating progress.

Mars 2025
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (78 pages).

Climate change is no longer something in the future, to be debated whether it’s real or not. From heatwaves in India to wildfires in Los Angeles, the climate crisis is unfolding all around us. So the need to drastically cut carbon emissions is clear, and broadly speaking the Built Environment is about a third of the problem.
The question is what to do about a sector that is so diverse, and at the same time critical to who we are and what we do – our homes, schools, hospitals, factories and offices.
As Built Environment professionals we deal with this challenge every day, one building or development at a time. But it’s not enough for us to only focus on the projects that are in front
of us. We need to use our knowledge of what works on the ground, building by building, to help shape policies and market incentives that will be effective in driving down Built Environment carbon emissions across the whole sector.
In this publication we are focusing on the carbon impact of buildings in operation. This is not a new topic, the science of energy efficiency in buildings is relatively developed, and the solutions to operational decarbonization are largely already in our hands. In this sense it is different to embodied carbon in construction, which is a relatively new area of study (and is addressed in other publications in this series). The challenge therefore is one of behaviors – how we push operational decarbonization far enough up the agenda to drive real action.

Mars 2025
Boston Consulting group (37 pages).

Over the past two decades, private infrastructure investment has delivered a reliable stream of steady returns and served as a major source of capital for the roads, seaports, airports, energy generation and transmission, broadband systems, data centers, and more on which our global society and global economy depend. In the past ten years alone, private infrastructure assets under management (AuM) have more than quadrupled, to $1.3 trillion.
But as this year’s report on the state of private infrastructure investing shows, while infrastructure assets under management continue to grow, deal volume declined in 2024 compared to the previous year, and fundraising is still down 43% from 2022’s peak, despite growing 14% year-over-year.
Moreover, the overall geopolitical situation remains unstable, even as interest rates have stabilized after falling from their recent peaks. The highly uncertain macroeconomic environment remains a concern as well, especially following the recent elections in the US. The new administration is engaged in a major revamping of the country’s administration and budget, which is likely to create unforeseen changes in multiple areas related to government and regulation, with as yet unclear impacts on global trade. The situation is kinetic and is generating considerable uncertainty for investors of all kinds.
Despite the headwinds, however, we believe that the near term prospects for private investment in infrastructure assets has improved since last year’s report. We see indications of further momentum in both investment and dealmaking. We also believe that high-level data does not fully reveal an underlying shift in how investors are approaching the infrastructure asset class. The industry is maturing, its mandate is changing, and both general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) are responding in ways that will positively affect performance. Firms are consolidating to build scale or specialize, expanding their investment options, and improving their operational capabilities, resulting in offerings that are more carefully tuned to the current and future investment environment than ever.
In this year’s report, we provide both the data needed to better understand the current state of private infrastructure investing and an in-depth analysis of how the industry is upping its game in an increasingly complex environment.

Février 2025
EPEC, European PPP Expertise Centre (34 pages).

This report covers a wide range of PPP transactions (e.g. design-build-finance-operate, design-build-finance-maintain, concession arrangements which feature a construction element, the provision of a public service and risk sharing between the public and private sector, and can include regulated assets), regardless of the type of financing provided by the EIB (e.g. project finance, sovereign lending). Portfolio loans to small PPP projects and investments in equity PPP funds are not listed in this report.

Février 2025
Atradius (20 pages).

Despite the ongoing challenges in China’s real estate sector and high interest rates continuing to impact mortgage rates in Europe and the US, the outlook for the industry is not all doom and gloom. We expect to global construction output to increase by 2.3% in 2025 and by 3.3% in 2026.

Janvier 2025
Nations Unies, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - ECLAC - (24 pages).

For decades, Latin America and the Caribbean has been investing in infrastructure, which has been essential for development and, at the same time, has had an impact on economic growth and the well-being of the population.

Décembre 2024
Forum Economique Mondial (48 pages).

Reimagining Real Estate: A Framework for the Future provides a pathway for the industry to create more liveable, sustainable, resilient and affordable buildings. The framework underscores that robust and resilient capital markets are key to achieving that vision and explores how technology, infrastructure and putting people at the heart of development all drive long-term value.
Calls to action for both the public and private sectors emphasize the necessity of collaboration amid an increasingly complex global landscape and case studies demonstrate what is possible.

Décembre 2024
PPIAF (79 pages).

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the FY24 Annual Report showcases PPIAF's transformative impact, including catalyzing $29 billion in infrastructure investments, expanding subnational financing opportunities, embedding climate resilience into infrastructure development, and promoting gender-inclusive solutions across the sector. This report underscores PPIAF's innovative approaches and enduring commitment to sustainable infrastructure development across 130 countries.

Décembre 2024
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific - ESCAP - (96 pages).

Cities are hubs and drivers of social and economic activities. Within cities, urban transport systems are the wheels of economic growth by providing mobility to the population and supporting the movement of goods. With economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region, the demand for urban transport is expected to double between 2015 and 2050. Both achieving the sustainability goals and increasing the quality of life within cities are largely dependent on how mobility services are provided and managed. Yet, in many Asian cities, only 34 to 38 per cent of the public currently have access to public transport. Moreover, urban mobility is challenged by a high level of congestion and pollution, high rates of traffic accidents, low levels of accessibility to the most vulnerable populations and a skewed distribution of resources. For instance, in 2019, many Asian cities experienced severe traffic congestion, with a 19 to 71 per cent increase in overall travel times, compared to a free-flow situation.
Furthermore, urban transport is facing increasing concerns related to social issues, such as lack of accessibility, lack of universal design, traffic safety and personal security concerns, and affordability, to name a few. Given the presence of these social issues in urban transport, it will be difficult to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is thus imperative that we address social concerns to develop barrier-free accessibility and innovative mobility services to ensure an equitable socio-economic development in the urban regions. Specifically, accessible public transport planning catering to the needs of women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons, and provision of quality mobility services are growing concerns in many cities considering the population distribution in the Asia and Pacific region.
Delivering accessible design and inclusive urban transport systems through innovative technologies will be an important means of improving transport sustainability and general well-being. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has therefore developed and launched a project in August 2022 to enhance the capacity of policy makers and planners to plan for and operate more accessible, socially inclusive and innovative urban transport systems by integrating active mobility and utilization of emerging technologies in selected Asian cities and countries. ESCAP will be conducting four national workshops as part of the project for the target countries, namely, Azerbaijan, Laos People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Mongolia, and Nepal. The second workshop in the series will take place in Vientiane, PDR.