Industry Agenda Strategic Infrastructure

The report argues that infrastructure only drives economic growth when aligned with a country's strategic priorities. It proposes a seven-stage planning process—from baselining current readiness using the Strategic Infrastructure Planner Tool to final project execution—and emphasizes the use of Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) to ensure value for money. The document also examines various procurement routes, including Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and highlights the importance of whole lifecycle costing to reduce long-term expenses. It concludes that successful delivery requires professional project management standards, transparent governance, and flexible budgeting cycles.

• There is a significant global infrastructure gap, estimated at approximately US$ 1 trillion, which represents about 1.25% of global GDP annually.
• Infrastructure investment typically yields an economic return between 5% and 25%, with most estimates suggesting a GDP increase of US$ 0.05 to US$ 0.25 for every dollar spent.
• The World Economic Forum's Strategic Infrastructure Planner Framework assesses readiness across 14 parameters divided into four categories: infrastructure quality, government readiness, societal readiness, and market readiness.
• Governments are encouraged to adopt a long-term infrastructure vision (approximately 50 years) and medium-term outcome-based goals (approximately 10 years) to guide project selection.
• Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is recommended as the primary objective methodology for prioritizing projects, as it allows for the monetization of financial, economic, social, and environmental impacts.
• Proactive maintenance is significantly more cost-effective than rehabilitation; for example, every dollar spent on regular road maintenance can save more than US$ 5 on rebuilding a road.
• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can lower overall annual costs by incentivizing private-sector skills and risk management, which can offset the higher cost of private capital compared to government borrowing.
• Whole lifecycle costing is superior to traditional procurement because it evaluates the total cost of ownership, preventing the selection of low-capital-cost options that incur excessive long-term maintenance expenses.
• Project preparation costs for 'bankable' projects are substantial, typically ranging from 2% to 4% of total capital costs, and can be a primary cause for project delays or cancellations.
• Annual government budgeting cycles can hinder the delivery of high-impact projects; lengthening these cycles to two or three years allows for the pursuit of projects with the highest benefit/cost ratios.

APA

World Economic Forum (2012). Industry Agenda Strategic Infrastructure. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IU_StrategicInfrastructure_Report_2012.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Industry Agenda Strategic Infrastructure. 2012. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IU_StrategicInfrastructure_Report_2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Industry Agenda Strategic Infrastructure |date=September 2012 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IU_StrategicInfrastructure_Report_2012.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2012industry, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Industry Agenda Strategic Infrastructure}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IU_StrategicInfrastructure_Report_2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }