The cloud with a $57 trillion silver lining

A range of global development banks and private sector institutions have launched an online cloud-based project management tool to make investment in infrastructure more systematic and effective. 

The International Infrastructure Support System (IISS) is a secure, scaleable service developed by  the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation (SIF), a non-profit foundation based in Geneva. 

The foundation says the IISS is accessible to the public and private sector, and is intended to improve the early stages of project development.  

Pilot projects are being undertaken in Latin America, Africa, Central Europe and Asia to assess the robustness of the system. 

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has estimated that global infrastructure spending is to total $57 trillion by 2030. 

The foundation showcased IISS at its second annual meeting at the London headquarters of the EBRD. SIF partners including the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Bank Group and leading private sector constituents were in London. 

Laurence Carter, senior director for public-private partnerships at the World Bank Group, said: "The IISS is an important initiative that has the potential to help increase the supply of commercially viable, sustainable infrastructure investments in emerging markets.  

"With the support of the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility [a World Bank multi-donor trust fund], we look forward to collaborating with other partners on this initiative to help bring the public and private sectors together to unlock a pipeline of viable and bankable projects."