Infrastructure, Utilities and Services: Theoretical Keystones

This chapter aims to examine infrastructure development and its associated utilities and services. It assesses the link that exists between urban infrastructure provision, including its utilities and services, and economic growth in a bid to understand how they correlate. Based on the use of thematic and content analysis, the chapter provides an in-depth investigation of infrastructure investment. Infrastructure development is one of the bases for assessing the achievements of leaders, and it is the foundation of good governance. The linkages between infrastructure and economic growth are multiple and complex. Infrastructure has always played a key role in integrating economies within a region, and well-developed and efficient infrastructure is essential for a region’s economic development and growth. It is evident that lack of infrastructure results in production bottlenecks for sustainable growth and poverty alleviation. To deal with challenges and maximise the opportunities, governments and policy-makers should have responsibility for undertaking best practices to fully unleash and utilise the economic and related benefits of infrastructure.