- Governmental effectiveness is most likely to inhibit the delivery of required infrastructure. This is the respondents’ top concern (cited by 69 percent), ahead of economic conditions (63 percent) and availability of financing (60 percent).
- Government improvement priorities should include depoliticizing public policy related to infrastructure (recommended by 45 percent of respondents), fostering transparency in planning and project selection (44 percent), and making greater use of public-private partnerships (40 percent).
- Government support for financing is needed in the form of direct government contributions or co-lending (37 percent), more favourable risk allocation (36 percent), or government loan guarantees (35 percent).
- Insufficient infrastructure investment could endanger long-term growth. Despite stimulus funding, the present level of investment may not be enough to sustain the long-term growth of national economies (46 percent), nor the long-term growth of respondents’ businesses (72 percent).
- Long-term training is needed to avoid skills shortage. Respondents suggest that steadier spending on infrastructure (68 percent) and increased training and education (66 percent) can help combat lack of available people and skills.
Concerns over governmental effectiveness, the economy, and the availability of financing are consistent with the results of KPMG International's January 2009 global survey of C-level business executives, Bridging the Global Infrastructure Gap: Views from the Executive Suite.
The Changing Face of Infrastructure is based on a global survey of 455 senior executives who are directly involved in the development, delivery, operation/maintenance and provision of financing or advice in the transportation, energy, social services, and water sectors. The survey was conducted in June and July 2009, and it includes 127 respondents based in North America (28 percent).