Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure is considered to be the key to promoting sustainable and inclusive

economic growth. So a great deal of policy emphasis has been placed on infrastructure
development for augmenting growth, productivity, and quality of life of the citizens of the
developing country.

Infrastructure development is the construction of basic foundational services in

order to stimulate economic growth and quality of life improvement. Most advanced economies
have gone through periods of intensive infrastructure building that have improved the efficiency
and competitiveness of regions. It involves improvement of the quality of the various
components of infrastructure, such as roads, power, ICT, water, and sanitation.

An infrastructure project is a proposed plan that focuses on the improvement and

upkeep of services, facilities, and systems already in place throughout a country. Examples
include improvements to communications equipment, transportation channels and electrical
systems. Both private and public companies finance the projects to ensure a country operates
efficiently and safely. This allows citizens to have electricity, the ability to communicate using
technology and easy ways of getting from one place to another.

TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE
1. Aviation Infrastructure
Flying is a form of travel that allows people to cross long distances in a much shorter
time than driving or taking a train. One important current aviation infrastructure project
includes building extensions to pre-existing airports to increase the overall percentage of flights
landing on time. Another in-demand project is maintaining the safety of current ground facilities
by repaving airfields.

Examples of aviation infrastructure include:

 Airports  Heliports
 Air traffic control  Ground facilities

2. Bridge Infrastructure
The maintenance of large-scale, high-volume bridges is necessary for many people's
daily transit. Bridge infrastructure construction oversees the costs of building and maintaining
bridges throughout the country. This includes heavily-trafficked highway bridges that are
accessed daily.

Examples of bridge infrastructure include:

 Beam bridges  Arch bridges

 Cable bridges

3. Communications Infrastructure
Technology is always expanding, and that leaves a constant need for
telecommunications infrastructure projects, such as progressing from 4G to 5G mobile
networks.

Example of telecommunications infrastructure include:

 Telephone wires  Satellites  Radio broadcasting

and cables systems
 Mobile network
 Internet towers
4. Power and Energy Infrastructure
The electrical infrastructure oversees projects that deal with power including; electrical
lines, power grids, and innovations in alternative energy. Traditional energy infrastructures
include coal, gas, and nuclear plants, which help produce electricity for the entire country.
Maintenance crews regularly perform repairs and maintenance on the plants to ensure they
properly and efficiently transmit power to the correct locations. Modern infrastructure projects
create power and store energy without the use of fossil fuels, such as solar-, wind- and
geothermal-powered infrastructures.

A few examples of both traditional and renewable energy infrastructures used today are:

 Electric power grid networks

 Nuclear plants

 Gas pipelines

 Fossil fuel-based power production such as gas and coal plants

 Renewable energy like hydro-electric power, biofuels, and solar power

5. Railroad Infrastructure
The sector is responsible for innovating and safeguarding trains, subways, and light rail
systems. This includes track layout, steel supplies, bridges, and tunnels. In addition to train
tracks, railroad infrastructure includes all buildings, equipment and land that support the
railways. This also includes management, transport of materials and maintenance of rail lines
and all of their facilities. Divided into two categories, the rail network consists of freight and
passenger. For both categories, railroad infrastructure projects involve the maintenance and
upkeep of the current railways, but also include making efforts to create new rail line extensions
and adding signage near railways.

Examples of railway infrastructures include:

 Railway lines  Tunnels  Train stations

 Trains  Railroad bridges

6. Road Infrastructure
Road infrastructure construction builds new streets and fixes streets, roads, and
highway systems for mass transit. It also oversees developing transportation projects that grant
greater transportation access to communities. Minor roadway projects are tasks such as
creating new traffic lights, signage, ramps and traffic lanes. Larger roadway projects consist of
building new roads and repairing existing roads. Street and highway reconstruction and
resurfacing are essential to keeping a road in drivable condition. Many states rely on the income
from toll roads to fund the construction.

Some examples of roadway infrastructures include:

 Roads  Bridges  Tunnels  Bus transit

7. Water Infrastructure
Water infrastructure works to create sustainable water projects to purify water supplies
from waste, and make it safe for drinking. The constant supply of clean and filtered water to
people across a country is an important infrastructure to maintain. Water infrastructure projects
differ depending on location because of environmental factors. For example, in a location that
typically has droughts, water infrastructure projects ensure the continuation of a steady water
supply and reduce the number of leaks by monitoring and repairing the water facilities in use.
Most projects include updating the current distribution of water and finding effective ways to
transport water from one location to another.

Examples of water infrastructure include:

 Main water lines  Treatment plants  Roadside gutters

 Wells  Septic tanks  Dams
 Pumping stations  Storm water drains  Levees

8. Waste Management
Construction waste management works to improve the environment by storing, treating
and eliminating hazardous materials. Sustainable construction practices are used to safely
reprocess water for drinking, enhance human health, and dispose of sewage and solid waste.

Examples of waste management infrastructures include:

 Landfills  Storage facilities  Wastewater

 Treatment plants  Solid and
facilities
hazardous waste
 Recycling facilities
transport

9. Recreation facilities
Recreation infrastructure provides facilities and services that help bring communities
together through the use of shared public amenities in surrounding neighborhoods. Recreation
infrastructure projects include designing new facilities that communities can enjoy and
maintaining existing structures, such as parks, playgrounds and nature reserves.

Examples of recreation facilities include:

 Public parks and  Historical sites  Picnic areas

playgrounds
 Nature reserves  Public parking
 Public beaches areas
 Public bathrooms

Role of civil engineer in infrastructure development

A civil engineer has different roles in an infrastructure project, including planning,
designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating. They do all of that while protecting the
construction site’s people and keeping a safe work environment. They also sometimes improve
existing structures to ensure it stays in top condition.  

When something goes wrong within an infrastructure project, people usually turn to civil
engineers because they can assist due to the nature of their jobs. Whether it’s talking to
the architect about flaws in the infrastructure design or working with electrical contractors, you
can always expect them to get it done.  

  A civil engineer can also provide the project with cost estimations, ensuring the
infrastructure owner knows how the construction team handles the money. They must know all
of the infrastructure project’s costs, like knowing how many energy-efficient flat panel
skylights the structure needs.  

The civil engineer carefully watches project processes. They talk with contractors and
subcontractors and visit the site frequently to see if everything is going according to plan.
The construction manager will work with the civil engineer providing regular updates as to
what’s going on within the construction site.
Effects of Infrastructure in Economic Development of a Country
Infrastructure is directly linked to the economic development and growth of a country. It
acts as a catalyst for the development of poverty alleviating solutions, providing access to basic
needs such as health care, education, food resources, transportation, job opportunities and
more. It also increases productivity and improves the quality of life for many communities. 

Concrete, steel and fiber-optic cable are the essential building blocks of the economy.
Infrastructure enables trade, powers businesses, connects workers to their jobs, creates
opportunities for struggling communities and protects the nation from an increasingly
unpredictable natural environment. From private investment in telecommunication systems,
broadband networks, freight railroads, energy projects and pipelines, to publicly spending on
transportation, water, buildings and parks, infrastructure is the backbone of a healthy economy.

Poor infrastructure is a serious obstacle in the development of communities and in

economic progress. It changes the lives of communities drastically and contributes to
poverty. When a community lacks transport infrastructure like roads, it means that the people
from that community are unable to travel to cities. Or places where job and social networking
opportunities, as well as quality health care facilities, are available. This leads to a deteriorating
quality of life for people in this community. It means they’re also unable to contribute to the
economic activity of the municipality in which they live, therefore, unable to contribute to the
national economy at large.