Quality Infrastructure Projects: How Are Investor Attitudes Changing?
In spite of the current global crises caused by the pandemic, most developed countries are looking at infrastructure projects as a way of kick-starting their economies. This is also the case in Russia, which is not only developing infrastructure to follow international trends, but to pursue its national goals and complete national projects. In order to provide a further impetus to infrastructure projects, the government is offering new forms of financial support, such as infrastructure loans to the regions. At the same time, there has clearly been an enormous emphasis on attracting private investment. The success of this endeavour depends greatly on what is being done by specific teams in the regions, and whether they are in a position to offer attractive projects to investors. International trends indicate that around half of all financing organizations have begun to look at investment projects not only in terms of likely return, but also in terms of quality. This may encompass how a project is structured, what social impact it may have, its approach to environmental factors, and the extent to which modern technologies are used in construction. Therefore, in order to secure long-term investments in infrastructure, it is becoming essential for project initiators, government bodies, and financing organizations to have a common approach to measuring the quality of a project. What requirements must a high-quality infrastructure project meet? What international practices could be adopted? What needs to be done to develop effective approaches to assessing projects, without creating additional barriers for initiators? What examples of best practices being employed in high-quality infrastructure projects exist in Russia?
