Infrastructure projects during a downturn

摘要

Listening to the rhetoric, many may think now is the time to build infrastructure. It's a common belief that when the economy is in a downturn, most elements of a project are less expensive. But that's simply not true. And because income streams are shallow right now due to low commodity prices, capital projects must be executed very carefully. While things like material and labour typically have a set price tag, the biggest determinant of the overall cost of an infrastructure project can often be time. Time can be harder to quantify and is difficult to constrain if- or, in many cases, when - the unexpected happens. Time is, and should be, a constant concern from the beginning of planning until project completion. In order to mitigate time-related costs, you need to start with a good business case, and translate that into a development plan. Once that's established, project management must then be as efficient as possible. When you introduce delays, that will be the biggest driver of increasing costs.