According to a report from the Inter-American Development Bank, the estimate is that the country would need to invest at least 4.5% of GDP in the sector
O Brazil invests only 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in infrastructureless than half of the minimum necessary to sustain economic growth, according to a survey by the Inter-American Development Bank. The estimate is that the country would need invest at least 4.5% of GDP in the sector.
The lack of investment occurs amid the absence of consolidated data on national infrastructure, which makes it difficult to define priorities and compromises the efficiency of public policies. A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also points to low transparency as one of the obstacles to development.
To face this scenario, the Federal Council of Engineering and Agronomy launched, on March 16, Infra-BR, an index that evaluates infrastructure conditions in the 26 states and the Federal District. The platform brings together 67 indicators, organized into six dimensions, such as mobility, sanitation, energy and environment, with scores from 0 to 100.
The objective is to offer a detailed diagnosis to guide resource allocation. “The biggest obstacle is identifying where to apply resources. With these indicators, it will be possible to distinguish what is urgent from what can be planned”, stated the president of Confea, Vinicius Marchese.
The data shows strong regional inequality. The Federal District leads the ranking, with 74.67 points, while Acre appears in last position, with 28.46. Among the states above the national average, the majority are in the South and Southeast regions, while the worst results are concentrated in the North.
In the Northeast, basic sanitation appears as the main bottleneck, with low rates in states such as Pernambuco and Maranhão. Federation units in the South and Central-West have better results in the area.
“Without clear metrics, governments may end up concentrating efforts only on budget execution without evaluating whether investments are, in fact, producing concrete results for the population. An index allows you to identify bottlenecks, territorial inequalities and information gaps”, observes Telma Hoyler, PhD in Political Science from USP and public policy consultant and member of the Infra-BR formulation team – Confea Infrastructure Index of Brazil.
