On the occasion of the publication of the ISPI-McKinsey & Company annual report on “Digitalization for Sustainable Infrastructure: the Race Ahead”
In today’s tumultuous and fast-changing times, digitalisation and technology are game changers in a wide range of sectors and have a tremendous impact on infrastructure. Roads, railways, electricity grids, aviation, and maritime transport are deeply affected by the digital and technological transition, with gains in terms of competitiveness, cost-reduction, and safety.
As the world watches Russia’s war on Ukraine unfold, the importance of protecting critical infrastructures against attacks becomes ever more significant. Tech dependencies, supply chain risks, and critical infrastructure vulnerabilities create opportunities for unwanted foreign interference. Current geopolitical struggles for power are also increasingly played out in the technological and digital domains, with various states and tech companies elbowing their way to achieve technological superiority and control the global digital order.
Mobility is a constantly evolving field. Until today, the success of Global Cities around the world was highly dependent on the efficiency of their infrastructures, as well as on their ability to maintain them. However, over the last two years, the coronavirus pandemic seized control of our lives, leading to substantial social and economic changes.
Introduction
Smart mobility, defined for the sake of simplicity as a personalized ‘service’ available ‘on demand’, providing individuals instant access to a seamless system of clean, green, efficient, and flexible transport to meet all their needs, is a transition affecting the mobility sector, though we cannot call it a revolution yet.
In its final statement for the G20 Finance ministers and central bank governors, the T20 acknowledged that 2021 ‘marks a turn in the rich history of infrastructure investments and financing issues within the G20, in a time of more complex crisis than 2008.’
The infrastructure marketplace in the Indo-Pacific is being defined by competition. But given 21st century trends, this competition should be in the service of expanding choice, innovation, and effective delivery of sustainable infrastructure outcomes. Does the recently announced B3W offer positive contribution beyond engagement through its implicit contrast to the BRI?
In the aftermath of the pandemic, global demand for infrastructure is booming. National plans around the world show that infrastructure is likely to provide the backbone for a resurgence in public expenditure, and to support growth in economies badly hit by the pandemic.
In the context of rising competition between China and the United States, Washington has introduced a massive infrastructure plan: the American Jobs Plan. As the 100-day milestone approaches for the Biden administration, the goal is to update and strengthen American infrastructure, create new jobs, boost growth, and enhance overall competitiveness.
President Biden unveiled a new $2 trillion American Jobs Plan on Wednesday, March 31, focused on infrastructure, the care economy, the climate and, as the name implies, creating desperately needed, good jobs. Previous U.S.
US infrastructure agencies have kept the country’s trains running, water flowing, and government buildings functioning during the coronavirus crisis. Now that operations are stabilizing, they can reconsider their capital-expenditure plans. What that entails will vary dramatically depending on whether the federal government provides substantial infrastructure funding as part of an economic-stimulus package. If it does, agencies will need to determine how best to spend their share.
From a crisis to another: a wasted decade of growth?