Infrastructure powers businesses and connects citizens to opportunities for work, health care and education. It also plays a critical role in fostering economic development, improving quality of life, and addressing key societal challenges. The success of infrastructure construction projects largely depends on precision planning and fine-tuned strategies.
Depending on the scope, large infrastructure projects require large amounts of capital, and they can be expensive and time-consuming to plan and execute. Often, these investments are made through public & private funding or private-public collaboration. These factors make infrastructure project management a high-stakes game that requires attention to detail and expert skill.
The core of a project is its Organizational Management System (OMS), which defines roles, responsibilities, authorities and reporting relationships within an organization. This core process outlines how the project is managed, overseen and monitored throughout its duration. Various auxiliary processes such as risk management, change management and quality assurance and control support the OMS.
Complementary infrastructure includes the little things that add up to big value. From the Netherlands’ ‘Room for the River’ project, which gives waterways more space to reduce flood risks, to Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, which showcases innovative horticulture, complementing infrastructure can improve people’s lives by providing them with better access to services.
While infrastructure projects are vital to society, they can be complex and time-consuming to plan and implement. To maximize their benefits, government entities should include stakeholders in the decision-making and design process. This can increase the public’s satisfaction with the projects ultimately selected and help ensure more equitable outcomes.