Transparency International Australia (TIA) is launching a new tool to identify the loopholes that enable corruption to thrive in the infrastructure sector in the Asia-Pacific region.
Eliminating corruption risks from the very start of an infrastructure project is essential to ensure infrastructure plans truly meet the needs of the community it serves. By guaranteeing a more efficient, honest, and fair process from the very beginning, we can ensure infrastructure projects are effective for current and future generations.
The value of global construction output is expected to reach US$ 17.5 trillion a year by 2030. But as much as US$ 6 trillion could be lost annually by 2030 through corruption, mismanagement and inefficiency.
This new tool assists representatives from civil society organisations, government and business, to identify, assess and communicate the corruption risks arising during the selection of infrastructure projects – when decisions are being made about what type of projects are needed.
It highlights how the process of selecting infrastructure projects can be skewed or manipulated to bring rich rewards to the project proponents and other beneficiaries - including government officials - at the expense of the public good. When large infrastructure projects are designed and implemented without effective anti-corruption controls, roads can be built to nowhere, buildings and bridges crumble, environments are damaged, and communities can be left divided and displaced. Resources that should be spent on the community are wasted, and costly white elephant projects remain. In the worst-case scenario, lives are lost due to unsafe construction.
TIA is working with our partners in the Solomon Islands and Indonesia to pilot this work. Transparency International Indonesia will assess a national prioritisation project responsible for accelerating over 200 large-scale infrastructure projects. TI Solomons will use evidence from their local research to call for stronger transparency and oversight of infrastructure projects in the country.
To learn more about the tool and our work visit TIA’s Accountable Infrastructure Webpage. Register for the Infrastructure Corruption Risk Assessment Tool Launch webinar on Thursday 19 May, 1.30-2.30 pm NZST (11.30 -12:30 pm AEST)
TIA’s Accountable Infrastructure Project is part of Transparency International’s regional partnership to reduce corruption in the Indo-Pacific region. This broader programme is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ).
Anna Griffin leads Transparency International Australia’s Accountable Infrastructure Project. Previously, she was part of TIA’s Accountable Mining Program working on business integrity issues and the corruption risks related to the process of awarding mining licence permits in Queensland and Western Australia.
