India Spends Big on What It Needs Most to Catch Up to China
MUMBAI—The financial capital of India has become a colossal construction site. The barriers that try to keep daily life on track in the metropolis on the country’s west coast proclaim: “Mumbai is upgrading." A new road being built along the Arabian Sea is aimed at easing congestion in a city where three-lane roads are frequently occupied by five lanes of honking traffic. A rapid-transit metro system is being extended to ease pressure on suburban trains overflowing with people.
A rail freight corridor stretching all the way to New Delhi is expected to cut the time it takes to ship goods along the 870 miles to 14 hours—from 14 days. The construction in Mumbai reflects a national push in India to transform a country where economic growth has long been snarled by crumbling and inefficient infrastructure. In recent years, the government has poured money onto the problem, an effort that has only accelerated as Western governments and multinationals have grown uneasy over relying on China for manufactured goods.
Some signs suggest the changes are bearing fruit. The enormous outlays are helping to power India’s economy, with the International Monetary Fund saying capital spending and productivity growth will be the biggest drivers of India’s expansion in the years ahead. Foreign investment, from companies including Apple and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, has more than doubled in the past 10 years, to around $50 billion in 2022.
Economists say India remains a long way from having the kind of infrastructure it needs to foster a higher-income economy. A deadly train crash in June highlighted the need for further improvements in railway maintenance and safety. The country especially lags behind China, which has spent decades
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