Cambodia hopes to leverage its membership in the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) to access much-needed funding for large-scale infrastructure development, state officials have said.

SDIP, jointly managed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), brings together a community of 35 governments, banks, pension funds and charitable organisations committed to mobilising $100 billion worth of projects that support sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure.

An Asean hub for the initiative was announced on Friday at the World Economic Forum regional summit in Phnom Penh. The hub is expected to help member countries in the region secure blended finance for sustainable infrastructure investment.

“With Asia constituting approximately 80 percent of the infrastructure funding gap, and the urgent need to increase the role of the private sector in financing the $2.5 trillion required annually to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, a dedicated SDIP ASEAN Hub is timely,” WEF said in a press release.

Vongsey Vissoth, secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said Cambodia was the first Asean country to become a member of the SDIP, and he expects the new regional platform will help address the Kingdom’s huge need for infrastructure funding.

“The need is now and in the future given the development, growth rate, urbanisation and connectivity with countries and with the region,” he said.