Outlook For Infrastructure: 2009 And Beyond

Foreword

June 2009 As the world economy continues to grapple with the worst effects of global recessionary and downturn pressures and as stimulus packages and interventionist policies are announced in succession, a constant theme in political leaders' speeches in recent months has been talk of facilitating an infrastructure-led bounce to help restore some of the damage done to global markets. Major investments in new roads, bridges, energy plants and railway lines and the jobs these would create would unleash a positive economic stimulus that would usher the world economy back on the road to recovery – or, at least, this is the mantra.

The fork in this road, however, is that the recession/downturn has reduced tax revenues and put greater fiscal pressure on government budgets. Therefore, governments the world over are likely to become even more reliant on the private sector as an essential component in delivering infrastructure, and project finance is arguably the