“Infrastructure development and construction is the golden opportunity to feed our economy now while also benefitting longer-term growth,” says WSP Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Guy Templeton.
While the challenge of COVID-19 cannot be overstated, “projects of national and state significance are more critical than ever,” says Templeton, chair of the Business Council of Australia’s infrastructure and growth committee.
“Funding and certainty for the infrastructure pipeline are simply essential to ensure economic recovery post-virus.”
WSP is working on infrastructure projects in every state and sector, and while Templeton says “it’s largely business-as-usual” on most construction sites, “there are clear signs that delivery timeframes will be impacted”.
Delays are stemming from disrupted supply chains – worsening in Europe but recovering in China – as well as changing operating procedures to limit contact, such as split shifts and smaller work-crews.
“Increased virtual, non-face to face communication between teams is also adding time to project delivery,” Templeton adds.
State border closures present logistical challenges, and “evolving guidelines make international team movements impossible”.
“To maintain employment and economic activity, state and federal governments must keep major projects going – and going strongly.”
Templeton wants to see activity stimulated “by accelerating smaller and medium projects and fast-tracking maintenance programs”.
“The short-term return for infrastructure investment is high, boosting job growth more than many other interventions and increasing the capacity of our economy.”
Templeton points to models that “quickly engage the whole supply chain”, like the delivery partner model used on the 155-kilometre Woolgoolga to Ballina $5 billion road upgrade.
“Under this model, contractors of all sizes can work on parts of the project, opening up the whole supply chain.”
While Australia’s short-term focus is on containing the COVID-19 threat, addressing population and demographic movement, congestion, climate change and the resiliency of the built environment “remain key challenges of our time,” Templeton says, “and that means we must maintain our focus on infrastructure programs”.