Infrastructure Financing through Islamic
Finance in the Islamic Countries
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country also had medium (10-year policy documents) and short term (five-year) plans that
had more specific targets on infrastructure projects. Indonesia’s medium term plan 2005-2025
which is subdivided into four five years plans is a national development strategy that lists
specific infrastructure projects for the country and identifies those that are national strategic
and priority projects.
Saudi Arabia launched its Vision 2030 relatively recently and identifies the role of private
sector in developing infrastructure in the future. Sudan also has a Comprehensive National
Strategy for Economic Development which is implemented in five-year plans which suggests
the infrastructure projects that will be implemented. Nigeria initiated the National Integrated
Infrastructure Masterplan 2014-2043 which is specific to the infrastructure sector. The plan
not only recognizes the sector-specific projects to be undertaken but also identifies the sources
of funding. The UK has established two institutions that deal with infrastructure strategies and
implementation. While the National Infrastructure Commission provides an objective
assessment of infrastructure requirements for the country over the longer run, the
Infrastructure and Projects Authority oversees the planning and implementing of specific
projects over the medium and short terms by, among others, preparing the National
Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
The experiences show that it is recommended to have a longer-term vision for the
development of the economy which is the responsibility of the head of government. This role
can be assigned to a specialist public institutions that can provide an objective and impartial
list of infrastructure projects that should be undertaken to enhance economic growth. The
medium strategy for infrastructure development would reflect the projects that are needed to
achieve the vision. This can be prepared by the Ministry of Planning or Economic
Development.
A key goal of strategies and plans is to identify projects that are the most beneficial to the
economy. Given the large sizes of infrastructure projects and the huge gaps in the
infrastructure strategy, there is a need to identify priority projects. The country case study on
the UK shows that an independent National Infrastructure Commission provides an
independent and objective assessment of the projects that are needed, taking into
consideration the long-term needs of the economy. In Indonesia, the government identifies the
National Strategic Projects and Priority Projects that are given precedence for implementation.
These priority projects can be incorporated in shorter term (five-year) plans for
implementation. The specific projects identified in the short-term plans can then be
implemented by the relevant ministries.
Moving forward, most of the OIC member countries will be striving to achieve the SDGs that
will require a sound infrastructure framework. A key feature of the infrastructure under the
SDG framework would be to also focus on quality by considering the sustainability-related
issues of different projects. This would require incorporating the appropriate technologies that
consider the environment and social implications of infrastructure projects when developing
the short-and medium term plans and strategies.