London Mayor Boris Johnson has launched the new Institute for Infrastructure Studies think tank at an event in Doha yesterday.
The institute is a not-for-profit organisation which will have bases both in the Middle East and in London. It has been set up to promote a greater understanding of the financing, risk and skills required to deliver large, complex infrastructure projects.
The institute was the brainchild of a pair of directors from infrastructure consultancy firm British Consulting, Ian Kennedy and Anthony Holmes.
The launch took place at the Qatari Financial Centre and was attended by key figures from London, Qatar and the wider gulf financial community.
At the launch, the Mayor said: “The birth of the Institute for Infrastructure Studies is a great example of how London and Doha can work together towards common goals by sharing vital knowledge and industry expertise. Any organisation that can provide the insight and the know-how to reduce costs and help speed up the delivery of landmark projects has to be warmly welcomed.
“So, I’m delighted to wish everyone at British Consulting the best of luck as they get this fantastic new initiative underway.”
Ian Kennedy, co-founder and director of the Institute, said: “This Institute will tackle public and freight transportation systems, ports, social infrastructure and stadia and we look forward to working with and for governments, financial and investment institutions and sponsors of large, complex projects to find practical solutions to the funding and management of this increasingly desirable asset class.
“Governments world-wide have seized the idea that investment in infrastructure is the single most effective policy option available to them to stimulate their economies, yet the forecast global expenditure of $50-70 trillion over the next 17 years may suffer from huge constraints in the availability of finance as investors become more risk-averse in the face of costly project delays that impede achievement of the very social objectives they set out to facilitate.”
In 2011, Qatar’s finance minster Yousef Hussein Kamal indicated that the state was expected to spend $150bn on infrastructure over the next 5-6 years
