From the Panama Canal to the Rogun Dam, Infrastructures as Accelerators of Growth

It is widely recognized that the development of efficient infrastructure is a true game changer for the regions in which it is built, because it opens new markets, becomes an accelerator of economic and social growth, and promotes integration and collaboration across entire transnational geographic areas.

The European Union believes in this and is focusing on the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), a network of railway lines, roads, inland waterways, and short-sea shipping routes connecting 424 European cities. Nine corridors of the network include railway lines for high-capacity fast trains. After all, the development of high-speed railways is one of the strategic points of the European Green Deal, which aims to reduce transportation emissions by 90% by 2050.

Across the ocean, four years ago, the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was approved, authorizing $1.2 trillion for infrastructure development, with $550 billion allocated for the first five years after its enactment.

Major nations are thus strongly promoting infrastructural development as a tool for economic growth, international competitiveness, and improving citizens’ quality of life. But what are the benefits of large projects already in operation? Let’s look at a few.

On April 24, 2006, the then-President of Panama Martín Torrijos presented his citizens with a plan to expand the Panama Canal, which Panamanians approved through a national referendum with 76.8% voting in favor.

Today, the new Panama Canal supports global trade routes thanks to the construction of a new set of locks that allow the transit of the largest ships in the world.

After its expansion, in which the Webuild Group participated, there was a significant increase in shipping routes across the isthmus and in commercial links between Asia and the East Coast of the United States. The Canal now manages 6% of global maritime traffic, with over 14,000 vessels handled annually carrying goods worth $270 billion.

Back in Europe, one infrastructure that fully embodies the spirit of the European Union is undoubtedly the Öresund Bridge, the bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden (precisely Copenhagen and Malmö) across the strait of the same name. It was inaugurated in 2000, creating a single transnational metropolitan area between Sweden and Denmark that fostered economic and cultural integration.

Increased trade, labor mobility, tourism, and public service integration brought the two countries—both Scandinavian but previously operating separate systems—closer together.

According to the Öresund Committee, in the first ten years of the bridge’s existence, the economy of the cross-border area grew by over 25% precisely due to the impact of this infrastructure.

The Addis Ababa–Djibouti railway is one such example of regional development that has shaped the recent past and continues to influence the present of the African continent. Inaugurated in 2018, it spans over 750 kilometers and represents the main logistics corridor for Ethiopian exports.

Besides boosting Ethiopia’s trade, the line has also strengthened the role of Djibouti, capital of the country of the same name, and its port, transforming it into a logistics and trade hub for all of East Africa.

Overall, the project acts as a development accelerator for the entire region. Before its construction, trucks took an average of 3 to 4 days to cover the 750 kilometers between Addis Ababa and the port of Djibouti. With the railway, travel time has been reduced to 12–14 hours, with a far greater freight capacity than in the past.

In Argentina, the Rosario–Victoria highway connection, built by an international consortium led by Webuild and inaugurated in 2003, opened a commercial corridor between Chile and the Pacific Coast of Latin America with three other countries on the Atlantic Coast.

The main bridge of this infrastructure, along with a series of 12 secondary bridges—linked one to the other—forms a 12-kilometer route across the Paraná River, allowing the city of Rosario to strengthen its role as Argentina’s leading grain production hub.

Still under construction, it promises to reshape the energy balance of all Central Asia. In Tajikistan, the Rogun Dam, set to become the tallest dam in the world, will have an installed capacity of 3,600 MW—equivalent to 3 nuclear reactors.

This not only represents a gateway to energy independence for the country but also a commercial exchange opportunity with neighboring countries, particularly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are ready to trade gas for electricity.

Confirming the hydropower project’s transnational role—developed by the Webuild Group in partnership with OSJC “Rogun Hydropower Project”—at the end of 2024, construction received a further $3 billion investment, with participation from numerous international institutions, from the World Bank to the Asian Development Bank, from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to the European Investment Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.

Once fully operational, Tajikistan could export up to 70% of the energy produced by the dam, selling it to Central Asian countries.