< Previous68 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NBogotá MetroRendering courtesy of Bogotá MetroEngineering Infrastructure Project of the Year Award:• Bogotá Metro• Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project, Cadiz, Inc. (California)• Virgin Hyperloop OneStrategic Infrastructure Project of the Year Award:• Multi-Purpose Container Port and Logistics Hub, Susah, Libya• Bogotá Metro• SeaOne Fuel SupplyFinance Infrastructure Project of the Year Award:• Montréal Réseau Express Métroplitan (REM)• São Paulo Municipal Lighting• Budapest-Belgrade RailwayOpportunity Infrastructure Project of the Year Award:• Libya Multi-Purpose Container Port and Logistics Hub, Susah• Bogotá Metro• SeaOne Fuel Supply (Caribbean & Central/South America compressed gas liquid delivery network)Sustainability Infrastructure Project of the Year Award:• Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project, Cadiz, Inc.• Nepal Compact Project, Millennium Challenge Corporation• VIA Rail High-Frequency Rail PlanContinued from page 6670 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nstrong private investment programs tend to be ranked highest. This is a critical insight, and is going to be a massively important differentiator going forward. In a country with $1-trillion annual budget deficits going forward, look to states that create private investment opportunities, and have the machinery to support that investment, for reliable infrastructure project creation. The states ranking highest on our list are all states with significant private investment initiatives, significant energy industries, or states that serve as transportation hubs — or, like Texas, are a combination of all three.But when you are assessing the U.S., another important fact to recognize is how slow the country has been in transitioning to private investment in infrastructure. This is a big problem. Fully 87 percent of U.S. infrastructure is owned by the public sector, and of that, 93 percent is owned by states and municipalities. The U.S. is just starting the Continued from page 64Giant Panamax ships choosing the Port of Savannah are one factor driving increased rail moves from the Georgia coast to such markets as Memphis and Nashville.Photo courtesy of Georgia Ports Authority72 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nlong, slow, road to building a privately fueled infrastructure investment model, just starting to mobilize its $17 trillion in pension fund money and $7 trillion in insurance funds to revitalize its infrastructure. New Presidents Mean New ProjectsIf you want to look out at the world and see where the infrastructure puck is going, then you have to separate the signal from the noise, both in terms of opportunities for investment, and countries (and states) in which to do long-term business. There are at least three issues that jump out at me when I look out at the global horizon. First, countries only initiate large infrastructure initiatives in the first 12 months after electionS. This is an iron rule. Take Latin America. The region will tally eight presidential elections by the time this calendar year is over, including in the largest economies in the region: Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Every one of these countries will launch The U.S. is just starting to mobilize its $17 trillion in pension fund money and $7 trillion in insurance funds to revitalize its infrastructure.74 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nan infrastructure investment program that will be operating at full speed in 2019, with both Mexico and Brazil positioned to move their investment levels into the 4-percent-of-GDP range. Second, look for those economies that are focused on the benefits that infrastructure projects produce for citizens. Increased private investment is a double-edged sword. Unless that investment actually creates real benefits such as mobility, better health, jobs and new businesses, then people assume, and probably rightly so, that the disproportionate weight of benefits goes to investors, which almost immediately causes infrastructure investment to come to a screeching halt. Third, one issue of debilitating concern all over the world is corruption. Higher degrees of corruption mean lower infrastructure investment levels, and higher project costs. We see this all over Asia, Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. Countries with high levels of corruption simply cannot sustain infrastructure initiatives. They get third-rate resources, more expensive money and worse projects at a time when projects that benefit people and economic competitiveness are increasingly complex and technologically sophisticated. Latin America is a prime example, where infrastructure investment came to a grinding halt in 2018, particularly in transport and water — the two issues most The Houston-DFW high-speed rail plans of Texas Central aim to carry travelers the 240 miles in less than 90 minutes. Nearly 50,000 Texan “super-commuters” travel back and forth between Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth more than once a week.Photo courtesy of Texas Central Railway76 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nimportant to citizens. When I look out at the global infrastructure market, and even when I turn my view toward U.S. states and municipalities thinking of private investment, public capacity and communities with high levels of civic engagement (this kind of trust is the opposite of corruption), I tend to focus on one question: Where is technology going to be happiest, most fiercely received, and most productively employed as a channel into the future?When you are looking at countries as possible locations for investment, turn your thinking on its head and assess who is spending the most productive time thinking about the user experience. It should be the U.S., since many of the technologies come from Silicon Valley, but many of the implementing companies are growing in other places that prioritize private investment and democratic government, including Canada, Australia, Singapore and other countries that engage citizens in build a national vision. People focus on the benefits of infrastructure, and those nations with stronger democracies tend to be better bets for long-term infrastructure project creation.As President & CEO of CG/LA, Norman F. Anderson focuses on infrastructure project creation, aimed at increasing the level of infrastructure investment and the performance of existing infrastructure stocks in developed and developing countries alike. In addition to advising the public and private sector, he has overseen the development of CG/LA’s proprietary analytic models, including Global, Latin American and US Annual Infrastructure Capacity Rankings, and “The Eight Criteria for Assessing a Country’s Infrastructure Capacity.” For more information, visit www.cg-la.com.What do I do with obsolete and increasingly unviable warehouse space? What is the future of distribution? What kind of future-proof distribution system will strike the balance between cost-effectiveness and growing demand for just-in-time delivery? These are the considerations behind the third in a series of reports commissioned by IAMC and SIOR with funding from the SIOR Foundation as part of the associations’ DesignFlex2030 initiative. by ANN MOLINEe ditor @ site s ele c tion.c om S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2018 77LOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTIONThe Flexible Industrial Distribution Facilities Network of the FutureNext >