Original version

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Radio

World Service Radio

World Business Report

Factual: Money

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

World Business Report: First broadcast 2017/01/02 18:32 GMT: Can we build our way to prosperity?

Bulletins

Can we build our way to prosperity?

First broadcast 2017/01/02 18:32 GMT

First broadcast 2017/01/02 18:32 GMT: Can we build our way to prosperity?

BBC World Service - World Business Report, Can we build our way to prosperity?

Roads, railways and airports can deliver goods and people, but are the costs justified?

With infrastructure spending back on the political agenda in the US and Europe, we ask whether we really can build our way to prosperity. Roads, railways and airports might be able to deliver goods and people, but can the costs really be justified?  We begin by looking at the case of Ciudad Real International Airport in Spain, which struggled with passenger numbers following the financial crisis in 2008.  Spain has invested heavily in infrastructure projects over the last two decades – what kinds of gains have been seen? We hear the views of Esperanza Aguirre, a politician from the ruling People’s Party and a former government minister.  US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to make infrastructure spending a priority, but will it really be a magic bullet for the economy? A question for Adie Tomer, infrastructure fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington. Clement Charlieu from the World Trade Centre in Lyon, France, explains why the city’s high speed rail links are vital for his business. And Phil Smith, Chairman of Cisco in the UK and Ireland, tells the BBC’s Robert Champion about the role of digital infrastructure in generating future prosperity.

(Photo: A partially complete walkway which was due to link Ciudad Real International Airport with an adjacent train station. Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

World Business Report

First broadcast 2017/01/02 18:32 GMT: Can we build our way to prosperity?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service

About BBC World Service