Build: Investing in America's Infrastructure

A bold plan for the United States to regain the lead in infrastructure development through privatization and public-private partnerships

America's infrastructure--its essential roads, bridges, ports, airports, power grids, and telecommunications systems--were once the pride of the nation and an example for the world. But now, after years of neglect and oversight, this infrastructure is crumbling and causing catastrophic changes in the US quality of life. Build seeks to explain how American infrastructure collapsed and what can be done to repair it.

In a series of colorful, rarely told cases, Build takes readers on a revealing tour behind the scenes of the successes and debacles of key infrastructure projects to show what works, why the United States has failed in recent decades to invest in infrastructure, and how the private sector can help revitalize the sector, spur job growth, and contribute to climate resilience.

Sadek Wahba examines the private origins of US infrastructure and the federally funded megaprojects that came after the New Deal, investigating the role the private sector can and should play in building infrastructure. By drawing comparisons with systems in the United Kingdom, France, India, and China, Wahba shows that while privatization and public-private partnerships cannot solve all infrastructure challenges, they are essential for closing funding gaps, overcoming political paralysis, and driving major infrastructure advances.

Build will appeal to readers interested in public finance, domestic policy, the role of the federal government, tax policy, and urban affairs.

Sadek Wahba is the founder, chairman, and managing partner of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment company. He is a senior fellow at New York University's Development Research Institute and a foundation fellow at St. Antony's College of the University of Oxford. A former World Bank economist, he serves on the President's National Infrastructure Advisory Council.