Asia-Pacific leads the infrastructure growth forecasts. Can its procurement processes keep up?

For procurement leaders, that growth raises a practical question: can their teams manage more activity while maintaining control over confidential information, evaluation and decision-making? The survey points to rapid digital adoption, alongside gaps in skills and risk allocation.

Every forecast points the same way. PwC's Global Infrastructure Outlook expects transport spending in Asia-Pacific to grow by 86% through 2050, and the region to account for more than half of all global infrastructure investment over that period. In the 2027 Transport Infrastructure Outlook Report , published in partnership with Infralogic, 54% of respondents name Asia-Pacific (excluding ANZ) as the region set for the greatest increase in activity over the next two years. Europe is next, at 37%.

The harder question is whether the region's infrastructure procurement machinery is ready for that volume. The survey suggests it is changing quickly, but not evenly.

Growth driven by population

Globally, economic development is the most widely cited reason capital is flowing to transport: 54% of all respondents name it, rising to 64% in the Americas. Asia-Pacific is different. Population growth is the standout driver for 50% of the region's respondents, nearly double the figure for EMEA and the Americas. All regional figures in this article are based on 50 respondents per region.

The report sets out the scale. Asia is home to more than half of the world's urban population, over 2.2 billion city dwellers , with a further 1.2 billion expected by 2050. Governments are committing capital to match. India allocated US$134bn to infrastructure in its 2025-26 federal budget. China added 2,862 kilometres of high-speed track in 2025 and is targeting a 60,000-kilometre network by 2030.

The project data backs this up. Four of 2025's ten largest transport projects were in Asia: Vietnam's Nam Do Son port project (US$14.2bn), Red River Boulevard urban rail PPP (US$11.4bn) and Can Gio International Transshipment Port (US$4.9bn), plus India's Dighi Port Expansion (US$4.8bn).

Growth isn't uniform across the region either. China faces deflation, which weakens the investment case even as borrowing becomes nominally cheaper. "Market volatility and macroeconomic pressures have significantly reduced bidding activity in our market," says the project director of a Chinese government agency.

More platforms, greater need for coordination

Asia-Pacific recorded the largest increase in the average number of procurement platforms used. According to the report, the average organisation in the region now runs 3.3 separate platforms, up from 2.1 a year ago. Globally the average is 3.2, up from 2.6. Expectations have risen with adoption: 74% of Asia-Pacific respondents now consider good-quality procurement software essential, more than double the 30% of a year ago.

More tools aren't the same as a better process. The report warns that when a file-sharing system, a project management tool and email each do part of the job, no single controlled environment holds a complete, auditable picture. That fragmentation is exactly what purpose-built platforms such as Ansarada Procure are designed to eliminate. Meanwhile, 22% of Asia-Pacific respondents still describe their process as fully or mostly manual.

The constraint is often people rather than technology. A lack of in-house expertise is the most acute barrier to digitalisation in Asia-Pacific, cited by 40% of the region's respondents. The executive director of a transaction advisory in India describes the result: "We lack the right skill to manage these processes effectively. We face major inefficiencies in managing cycle times and resource utilisation. The technologies are available but… we still face a lot of bottlenecks."

Adoption therefore needs to be supported by clear responsibilities, repeatable workflows and training.

Security is the benefit that matters most

Asked to name the major benefits of digitalising procurement, 66% of Asia-Pacific respondents chose improved security, against 48% overall. No other region weights it as heavily.

Competition goes some way to explaining why. Nearly two-thirds of Asia-Pacific respondents (62%) rate competition at the bidding stage as high or very high, compared with 52% in EMEA. The report links this to a pipeline large enough to attract a deep, internationally competitive pool of contractors, advisers and capital. More bidders means more confidential submissions and more evaluation material to protect. The report is specific about the risk: sensitive evaluation documents reaching the wrong bidder, or a competitor seeing a rival's submission.

Craig McMahon, Business Development Director at Ansarada, sees buyers responding: "Clients are now much more attuned to data requirements and sovereignty, and they've moved to purpose-built platforms with defined role-based access and audit trails. People are asking for security certificates now, whereas it was rarely a consideration two or three years ago."

Confidence is running ahead of maturity

On efficiency, Asia-Pacific shows the sharpest change in the survey. 84% of the region's respondents now rate their most recent procurement process as efficient, up from 56%, a 28-percentage-point jump. This suggests either a genuine step change in how projects are run or a shift in perceived efficiency. Its conclusion goes further, warning that confidence may be running higher than the evidence supports.

Risk allocation tells a more measured story. 36% of Asia-Pacific respondents say risk was allocated very effectively on their most recent project, against 54% in EMEA. The report attributes the gap to PPP frameworks in China, India and Southeast Asia that are newer and less consistently implemented, even where Australia and a few others run sophisticated programmes.

Institutions are starting to address the competitive side. From January 2026, the Asian Development Bank's Merit Point Criteria system is mandatory for all internationally advertised works contracts it finances. The system brings technical quality and sustainability into bid evaluation alongside price. It replaces a lowest-cost model seen as rewarding underbidding rather than capability. Intense competition only helps if the evaluation rewards the right things.

Takeaways for infrastructure procurement leaders

• Map the process before adding tools. A move from 2.1 to 3.3 platforms per organisation in a year points to a stack that has grown by addition. Identify where tender documents, bidder communications and evaluation decisions are held. Check for gaps, duplication and unclear ownership, then decide where integration or consolidation would improve control.
• Support teams with clear workflows and training. With in-house expertise the top digitalisation barrier in the region, standardise repeatable steps, assign clear responsibilities and train people to use the process consistently. This gives experienced team members more time to focus on judgement
• Make access control provable. Define access by role and stage of the tender, review permissions as participants change, and maintain an audit trail of document access and activity. This helps teams protect confidential information and demonstrate how it was controlled.

The complete regional findings are in the 2027 Transport Infrastructure Outlook Report.

Build for the pipeline ahead

Asia-Pacific's pipeline will test procurement teams on scale, competition and scrutiny at the same time. Preparing for that growth means building processes that keep information controlled, responsibilities clear and decisions traceable.

Ansarada Procure brings bidder management, Q&A, document control and role-based access into one secure environment, with a full audit trail, so a larger process doesn't mean a more fragmented one. Book a demo at ansarada.com/procure .