BlackRock's GIP: Global infrastructure investment opportunities to exceed $100 trillion over the next 10-15 years, with energy and power accounting for more than half

BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) President and Chief Operating Officer Raj Rao said on Wednesday that global infrastructure investment will present an opportunity exceeding $100 trillion over the next 10 to 15 years, with more than half of that spending likely to go toward energy and power-related projects. Speaking at the New Economy Forum in New Delhi, Rao said the scale of this opportunity equates to roughly $3 trillion to $4 trillion per year, with funding expected to come from private capital, governments, and public financing markets. GIP is a subsidiary of BlackRock with more than $200 billion in assets under management, focused on energy, power, and digital infrastructure. In recent years, as governments and companies have poured huge sums into data centers, power grids, and energy transition sectors, GIP's growth reflects a broad surge in investor demand for infrastructure. "You need a lot of new-build projects, and that involves trillions of dollars," Rao said. "In my view, that ultimately has to come from private capital. But for private capital to flow in, you need the right regulation, risk controls, and technology." Rao said the infrastructure asset class barely existed 20 years ago and has now grown to about $1.5 trillion. The rise of digital infrastructure construction over the past four to five years has significantly increased global electricity demand. U.S. power demand is expected to grow 2-3% over the next five years, while emerging economies such as India also need energy. Some of that supply could come from nuclear power, which is crucial for decarbonization. But Rao said that to boost investor interest in nuclear energy, projects need to be executed with faster delivery times. Rao said GIP is "still investing heavily in U.S., European, and Asian markets" because those markets offer higher risk-adjusted returns.