The Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management hosted the International Project Finance Association’s (IPFA) latest Future Leaders Network event on 27th April.
Dr Tim Stone, Visiting Professor in Infrastructure Investment and Finance at The Bartlett, delivered a keynote lecture on “Infrastructure - Limits to Markets”. He explored the varying capability of markets and governments to deliver long term infrastructure investment and operations.
He joined a panel discussion chaired by CPM’s Dr Aris Pantelias, Programme Leader of MSc Infrastructure Investment and Finance. The panel drew together a range of infrastructure experts, including Dr Dejan Makovsek (OECD International Transport Forum), Anurag Gupta (KPMG) and John Dimitropoulos (Mott MacDonald).
The discussion touched on a variety of policy areas, including the lacking transparency of asset quality data, distractions of off balance sheet treatment, historic cyclicality of investment, characteristics of efficient markets and the benefits of taking a systems approach in tackling disruption.
A recurrent point concerned the intergenerational consequences of poor policy on infrastructure investment. The panel also highlighted the difficulty in undertaking long-term appraisals of potential infrastructure investments, given the inherent uncertainty beyond even short-term horizons.
The event was organised by Alex Murray, Teaching Fellow at CPM. Reflecting on the event, he said “for many years, the IPFA has been hosting cutting edge debates concerning the use of private finance, particularly project finance methods, for infrastucture investment.
“It was a privilege for CPM to host the latest Future Leaders Network event and provide a forum for discussion on the merits of market mechanisms and regulatory regimes for infrastructure investment and operations. We look forward to hosting future events with the IPFA.”
For further information on the activities of The Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management regarding Infrastructure Investment and Finance, please contact either Alex Murray or Dr Aris Pantelias.