Dodgy investors with hot money will fill the void if state investors don't have the political will, imagination, resources and access to low interest capital to take the initiative on what would be perceived as high risk and hugely capital intensive projects. Ideally the EU would enter into state level cooperation agreements with Saharan countries.  The amount of capital required to generate economies of scale and profit margins sufficient to cover interest costs might preclude smaller entities from taking the lead, although pension funds might like the long term return characteristics of such projects. Get rich quick small scale investers, less so.

Index of Frank's Diaries