In India, Infrastructure Falls Short as Economy Moves Forward
印度基础设施落后拖经济后腿

 
India is building new roads, airports and power plants to cater to the needs of an economy that is growing at a rapid pace. But, infrastructure continues to be woefully inadequate.

印度正在修建新的道路、机场、发电站，以满足经济高速发展的需要。不过尽管如此，印度的基础设施仍显得不堪重负。

Later this month, a gleaming, new airport will open in India's famous information technology hub, Bangalore, meeting a long-standing demand of the I.T. industry.

本月晚些时候，一座崭新敞亮的机场将在印度信息产业中心班加罗尔正式投入使用。这座素有“印度硅谷”之称的高科技城市长期以来一直需要这样一座机场。

However, access roads to the new airport -- 36 kilometers north of the city center -- have not been widened to ease chronic traffic snarls. As a result, people fear the commute to the airport could take up to three hours -- longer than a short-haul flight.

但是，位于班加罗尔北部、距离市中心36公里的机场虽然落成，从市区到机场的公路却没有相应拓宽，交通仍然拥挤不堪。于是人们担心，从市里到机场可能要花上三个小时，比一般的短途飞行时间还要长。

Inadequate transport networks in bursting cities is just one of the problems confronting a country where all infrastructure is in short supply -- whether it is reliable power, highways, ports or world-class airports.

大城市交通设施的缺乏只是印度基础设施面临的问题之一。这些问题还包括缺乏可靠的电力供应、高速公路、港口、以及世界一流的机场。

Bidisha Ganguly, a consultant at the Confederation of Indian Industry, says these shortages have intensified amid the recent economic boom.

比迪沙.刚古利是印度工业联盟的顾问。他说，印度经济的高速发展使基础设施落后的问题暴露无遗。

"India has been growing at a very fast rate," Ganguly said. "So, as a result, all infrastructure is strained, so there are huge gaps and bottlenecks everywhere. We don't build infrastructure ahead of demand. We typically build it once the bottlenecks are there and fairly apparent."

刚古利说：“印度经济近来增长迅速。因此，所有基础设施都感到压力。瓶颈现象随处可见。我们没有在需求到来之前修建基础设施。我们典型的做法是在瓶颈出现后才开始考虑补救。”

The bottlenecks are becoming severe. Vehicles choke already crowded roads as car sales go up. Average loading and unloading time at busy sea ports is 85 hours -- 10 times longer than at Singapore or Hong Kong. Airports and ports often run short of warehouse space. It takes manufacturers days to transport goods from one part of the country to the other -- partly because trucks are barred from congested cities during the day for fear they might bring traffic to a standstill.

的确，印度发展的瓶颈变得越加严重。汽车销量上升使得本来就拥挤不堪的道路更加堵塞。在吞吐量较大的海港，货柜装卸的平均时间是85个小时，相当于新加坡或香港的10倍时间。机场和港口的仓储能力常常不足。制造商把货物从印度一个地区运到另一个地区常常要花上几天时间。这其中的部分原因是为了防止交通状况进一步恶化，很多城市禁止卡车白天进城。

Lack of adequate power is perhaps the most severe problem. Most industries and offices rely on massive power generators because electricity is often shut off for hours at a stretch, even in prime business and industrial areas.

缺少电力可能是最严重的问题。由于频繁停电，即使在繁华的商业区和繁忙的工业区，很多工厂和办公楼仍然需要安装大型发电机来保持供电。

The head of the Indian Council of International Economic Relations, Rajiv Kumar, says lack of adequate infrastructure holds back growth and discourages investors -- both domestic and foreign.

印度国际经济关系理事会的负责人拉吉夫.库玛尔说，基础设施匮乏阻碍了经济增长，同时也令国内和国外投资者望而却步。

"The industry has to provide all the infrastructure needs, itself, rather than these be available to it as it is in all other countries routinely as a part of the delivery of public services," Kumar said. "That means that even for those who can afford to do this, the costs become very high. But for a large number of medium and small enterprises it just means that they simply have to forego investment opportunities. So, infrastructure deficit in my view is probably costing India up to two percent growth in GDP (gross domestic product)."

他说：“印度的企业常常要自行满足基础设施需要。而在其他国家，这只是公共服务的一部分。这意味着，即使有的印度企业有能力这样做，但是成本将因此变得很高。而对于很多中小企业来说，这意味着丧失投资机会。所以，我认为，印度基础设施不足至少把印度的GDP拉低了两个百分点。”

The government acknowledges the country is grappling with a huge infrastructure deficit. It estimates India needs to invest $500 billion, in the next five years, to build roads, seaports, airports, high-speed expressways and power plants. The government is calling on the private sector to share the task.

印度政府承认基础设施不足的问题。印度政府估计，印度需要在未来五年里投资5千亿美元修建公路、海港、机场、高速公路和发电厂。印度政府呼吁私营企业跟政府共同承担基建费用。

Some of that investment is already in the pipeline. A project to link the country's four major cities with wide roads is to be completed this year. Modern airports are being built in several cities, under a new model under which private groups will build facilities, collect tolls and eventually hand the project back to the government.

一些基础设施投资已经在规划之中。一条连接印度四大城市的高速公路项目预计将在今年完工。几座城市的现代化机场也正在修建。私营企业出资修建这些机场，然后收取使用费，并将最终把机场交还给政府。

The government says the results of all these investments will be visible in five to 10 years. But many fear it may be longer, because many infrastructure projects often get delayed.

印度政府说，这些投资将在五到十年内产生效果。但是很多人担心需要更长时间，因为很多工程受到延误。

Ganguly says India needs to speed up the pace at which projects are implemented.

印度工业联盟的顾问刚古利说，印度需要加快工程进展速度。

"The feeling is that much more should be done," Ganguly said. "While the government has a broad plan, there are problems in implementation, getting clearances. Bureaucratic delays are there and it is not a straightforward issue, where you can just go and build a port or a airport."

他说：“我们认为需要做得更多。印度政府的计划很庞大。但是计划的执行、审批过程出现很多问题。很多时候是官僚机构的拖累，所以没办法直接了当地修建港口或机场。”

But many acknowledge that it is not always easy to fast track projects in a democracy where issues like land acquisition are sensitive and time consuming.

不过，很多人承认，在民主体制下，包括土地征用等问题都非常敏感，解决起来也是旷日持久。

Critics often compare India to the other Asian giant, China, which has built world-class infrastructure in record time. But others point out that although the Chinese central government's nod is enough to get a project off the ground, the task is far more difficult in India, where consensus is needed before any project can go ahead.

观察人士常常把印度和亚洲另外一个经济大国中国相比。中国在创记录的短时间内修建了世界一流的基础设施。但是也有人指出，很多在中国只需要中央政府点头就可以上马的项目，在印度却需要各方达成共识。