For too long, Latin America has been thwarted by its infrastructure deficit. Finally, the launch of several major projects and myriad small but no less significant ones, suggests that it is doing something about this.

While Latin America has steadily grown into a heterogeneous group of countries, developing at different speeds, embracing diverse political ideologies – from passionately populist to pragmatically pro-market – and ranging from commodities exporters to cheap-labour manufacturers, there is one, crucial area that unites the region: infrastructure. Or rather, the lack of it, which keeps the region segmented, and imposes prohibitive costs onto exporters.

“Shipping a container from Europe to Montevideo [in Uruguay] costs less than from Montevideo to [the port of] Rosario in Argentina,” said Paul Riezler, the president of Eurocámara Uruguay, the association representing chambers of commerce from EU members in Uruguay, in a recent interview with local newspaper El Pais.

But, after years of fast economic growth, infrastructure development is finally catching up. This matters not just to Latin America but to the world economy, as well. The Panama Canal expansion, slated for completion in 2015, should put an end to the month-long queues that cargo ships have had to endure to cross the waterway, which has also been widened and deepened to accommodate the larger, heavier carriers typical of today’s global trade.

Work has also started on the $50bn Grand Canal in Nicaragua, which will cut through the Central American country, connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. It is being funded by a Chinese tycoon, Wang Jing, and, although controversial, the project re-emphasises how crucial Latin American infrastructure is to international businesses.

The $9.16bn, six-runway Mexico City International Airport is another example of the infrastructure projects under way. The capital’s new hub will have the capacity for 120 million travellers a year, and growth potential for airlines that can transport cargo in passenger planes. It could overtake Atlanta in the US as the world’s busiest hub in terms of passenger traffic.

Similarly encouraging projects are popping up across Latin America, from extensive natural gas networks in Mexico, major subway works in Peru and Brazil, as well as major airports, ports and highways across the region. They may have started late, but it seems that Latin American countries are now more determined than ever to close their infamous infrastructure gap; and to forcefully build new, crucial international connections – to the ultimate benefit of global trade.

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