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Over the last decade, much has been written about globalisation and how we’re more connected than ever before. In the infrastructure world, we think of connectivity as the “linkages of communities, economies and nations through transport, communications, energy, and water networks across a number of countries” .

As outlined earlier in this blog series, private investors are looking for reliable returns to justify the risks that they are taking. Financing and procurement of cross-border projects will often be more complex than national projects due to the scale of the project and compounded risks, and the financial returns may be more uncertain than for national projects.

When we as consumers decide to invest our money—whether through shares, bonds, or other instruments—we look at whether our investment will deliver a solid financial return. It makes sense then that the same risk-return principle is applied to investments in infrastructure.

Risks can be hard to define, manage and mitigate. In infrastructure projects that cross regional or national borders and involve multiple parties from both the public and private sector, these risks may be amplified.

Infrastructure can often be used as a pawn in the political chess game, not only at a federal level between political parties, but at a foreign policy level too. It’s crucial that a cross-border infrastructure project has political support and cooperation from all parties involved, and that it’s being supported not for political gain, but to further regional development. A lack of strong political leadership can be detrimental to a cross-border project, and weak capacity can be a deterrent to investors.

The infrastructure supply gap is significant, but by focusing on four key deliverables, the G20 can support and establish new, technology-based critical networks that would be resilient in future crises.

Policy and regulatory implications of recent advances in the benchmarking of infrastructure investments.

The Reference tool is meant to serve as a practical tool to help governments and other stakeholders understand and implement the critical success factors that deliver inclusive infrastructure. The Framework for Inclusive Infrastructure summarises the following six Actions Areas and related practices that ought to be considered for the systematic implementation of inclusivity in infrastructure at the policy and project levels.

The draft Reference Guide on Output Specifications for Quality Infrastructure is open for public consultation to capture your insights and feedback for the final version.

The Denver Union Station is a large-scale mixed-use development project to transform the underutilized old Denver Union Station into a modern district

Our latest article with the Wilson Center

Equity and debt performance show that infrastructure as an asset class provides attractive and resilient returns for investors and unlisted infrastructure equities generated the highest returns and risk-adjusted returns.

Witness the final of the global competition to accelerate the infrastructure industry, which promises to be a window into the future of infrastructure.

The future of infrastructure mega-projects was explored recently by an international panel of experts in a webinar co-hosted by the Columbia University School of Professional Studies and Global Infrastructure Hub. The event took place as the global community begins looking towards a period of post-pandemic recovery and what the future of infrastructure may look like.

The interactive workshop was a lively and comprehensive overview of how the circular economy can be a framework for economic growth solutions and highlighted the roles that governments around the world can play to enable circularity in infrastructure.