The Role of Green Infrastructure Investment in Promoting Sustainable Regional Economic Growth in Developing Economies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/gijea.v4i4.923Keywords:
Green Infrastructure, Environmental Quality, Economic Productivity, Sustainable Growth, PLS-SEM, Developing EconomiesAbstract
This study examines the role of green infrastructure investment in promoting sustainable regional economic growth in developing economies, with a case study in Mimika Regency, Indonesia. The research employs a quantitative approach using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. Data were collected from 100 respondents representing diverse stakeholder groups, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), industrial workers, local communities, academics, and transportation and logistics actors. The measurement model demonstrates strong reliability and validity, with all constructs exceeding recommended thresholds for Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and average variance extracted (AVE). The structural model shows high explanatory power, with R² values of 0.987 for economic productivity, 0.983 for environmental quality, and 0.984 for sustainable regional economic growth. The results reveal that green infrastructure investment has a significant positive effect on both environmental quality and economic productivity. However, its direct effect on sustainable regional economic growth is negative. Environmental quality exhibits a strong positive effect on sustainable growth, while economic productivity shows a negative relationship. Mediation analysis indicates that environmental quality plays a dominant mediating role, with a substantial positive indirect effect, whereas economic productivity contributes a negative indirect effect. These findings suggest that, in developing regions such as Mimika, the benefits of green infrastructure investment are primarily realized through environmental improvements rather than immediate economic productivity gains. The study highlights the importance of prioritizing environmental quality as a key pathway toward achieving sustainable economic growth and provides policy implications for regional development strategies.
References
Bae, T. (2026, February 9). Sustainable regional economic growth: Balancing prosperity, environment, and social inclusion. The Jurnals. https://doi.jurnals.net/oaguz
Chen, S., Wang, Z., Du, D., & Kong, Q. (2025). How Does Green-Infrastructure Investment Empower Urban Sustainable Development?
Cristina, I. O. M., Nicoleta, C., Cătălin, D. R., & Margareta, F. (2021). Regional Development in Romania: Empirical Evidence Regarding the Factors for Measuring a Prosperous and Sustainable Economy. Sustainability, 13(7), 3942. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073942
Dindar, E. (2025). Performance Evaluation of Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability and GRI-Based SDG Disclosures in Turkey’s Automotive Sector. Sustainability, 17(19), 8905. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198905
Ekinci, E. (2025). Toward Fair and Sustainable Regional Development: A Multidimensional Framework for Allocating Public Investments in Türkiye. Sustainability, 17(24), 11288. https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411288
Kelkar, V., Helm, B., & Krebs, P. (2025). A Semi-Systematic Global Review to Understand the Key Components Essential for Advancing the Actual Design, Planning, and Implementation of Blue–Green Infrastructure in Indian Cities. Land, 14(11), 2287. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14112287
Mechanisms and Empirical Tests. Sustainability, 17(13), 5751. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17135751
Medeu, A., Askarova, M., Zhakupova, A., Bauyrzhan, U., & Klug, H. (2025). Sustainable Regional Development: A Challenge Between Socio-Economic Development and Sustainable Environmental Management. Sustainability, 17(13), 6020. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17136020
Nurjanana, N., Darma, D. C., Suparjo, S., Kustiawan, A., & Wasono, W. (2025). Two-Way Causality Between Economic Growth and Environmental Quality: Scale in the New Capital of Indonesia. Sustainability, 17(4), 1656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041656
Putra, A. A., Hasibuan, H. S., Tambunan, R. P., & Lautetu, L. M. (2024). Integration of the Sustainable Development Goals into a Regional Development Plan in Indonesia. Sustainability, 16(23), 10235. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310235
Sang, J., & Pan, L. (2024). Impact of Green Infrastructure Investment on Urban Carbon Emissions in China. Sustainability, 16(7), 2668. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072668
Sokolova, M. V., Fath, B. D., Grande, U., Buonocore, E., & Franzese, P. P. (2024). The Role of Green Infrastructure in Providing Urban Ecosystem Services: Insights from a Bibliometric Perspective. Land, 13(10), 1664. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101664
Tan, R., & Zhou, Z. (2025). Research on the Impact of Green Investment on Low-Carbon Economic Development: Based on the Test of Spatial Spillover Effect. Sustainability, 17(5), 2185. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17052185
Teixeira, N. (2025). Green Innovation and National Competitiveness: Rethinking Economic Resilience in the Sustainability Transition. Sustainability, 17(17), 7660. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177660
Xue, C., Chao, Y., Xie, S., & Yuan, K. (2025). Will Road Infrastructure Become the New Engine of Urban Growth? A Consideration of the Economic Externalities. Sustainability, 17(15), 6813. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156813
Ye, J., & Dela, E. (2023). The Effect of Green Investment and Green Financing on Sustainable Business Performance of Foreign Chemical Industries Operating in Indonesia: The Mediating Role of Corporate Social Responsibility. Sustainability, 15(14), 11218. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411218
Zarei, M., & Shahab, S. (2025). Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Green Infrastructure: A Systematic Review of Success Factors and Implementation Challenges. Land, 14(4), 818. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14040818
Zhang, Y., & Berhe, H. M. (2022). The Impact of Green Investment and Green Marketing on Business Performance: The Mediation Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Ethiopia’s Chinese Textile Companies. Sustainability, 14(7), 3883. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073883
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Antje Tuasela, Eni Setianingsih

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright :
Authors who publish their manuscripts in this journal agree to the following conditions:
- Copyright in each article belongs to the author.
- The author acknowledges that the GIJEA has the right to be the first to publish under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (Attribution 4.0 International CC BY 4.0).
- Authors can submit articles separately, arrange the non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal to other versions (for example, sent to the author's institutional repository, publication in a book, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time at GIJEA.























