Here's what's really been happening with these large-scale infrastructure projects:

The borrowed funds? They're supposedly going toward major construction initiatives. But dig deeper and you'll find something troubling.

For years now, the primary function of new borrowing hasn't been funding fresh development. Instead, it's become a mechanism to roll over existing debt—debt that can't be paid back through the actual economic returns generated by the projects it originally financed.

Think about that cycle for a moment. Projects get funded. They don't produce enough value to cover their costs. So more borrowing happens, not to build something new, but just to keep the previous loans afloat.

It's a classic refinancing loop where the underlying assets never quite deliver on their promised economic productivity. The debt keeps growing, but the value creation? That's another story entirely.