ABSTRACT
Millions of poor people in low-income countries lack access to basic infrastructure. Infrastructure not only contributes to economic growth, but it is also an important input to human development (Foster and Briceño-Garmendia, 2010: 2). This is encapsulated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which address infrastructure issues both directly and indirectly in six of the eight goals. In 2000, 189 states adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration which set quantified, time-bound targets for addressing extreme poverty, hunger and disease, and for promoting gender equality, education and environmental sustainability. The MDGs are also an expression of basic human rights: the rights of everyone to good health, education and shelter (United Nations, 2010). Both developed and developing countries committed themselves to deliver these goals for international development by 2015. However, progress towards achieving the MDGs has been mixed; the United Nations (UN) (2010: 3) reports that, without additional efforts, several of the targets are likely to be missed in many countries.
