Infrastructure that holds its value
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Contents Introduction:
Infrastructure that holds its value ...................................... 3 Good design is good business ........................................... 4 Why cities can no longer afford the “cheap” infrastructure option ..................................... 8 Gas to power Why energy reliability hinges on the contract more than the plant ................................... 13 The asset that survives the forecast .............................. 18 Ambition alone will not decarbonise infrastructure .............................................. 22 Water runs the world .......................................................... 27 Gold to gigawatts Turning old mines into renewable energy ............................................................... 31 Cheap today, costly for a century .................................. 36 Unlocking the grid: Investing in energy security .............................................. 41 About the authors .............................................................. 46
Welcome to the third edition of Nexus Magazine. This quarter we discuss how the infrastructure we design today will shape the choices available tomorrow. very major infrastructure decision encodes assumptions about the future: about demand, technology, climate, regulation, capital, community expectations and the systems those assets will need to support. For infrastructure leaders, this is no longer a theoretical issue. A substation is not just a substation when electrification is accelerating. A water asset is not just a water asset when scarcity, resilience and liveability are converging. A legacy mine is not just a closure challenge when land, energy and circular economy opportunities are being reimagined. The context around infrastructure is changing and with it, the definition of long-term value. It is no longer enough to optimise for a single expected future. The more important question is whether the decisions we make today can continue to create value across a range of plausible futures. This is the work strategic foresight helps enable. It gives leaders a way to challenge inherited assumptions, explore alternative conditions and identify where today’s choices may create tomorrow’s constraints or tomorrow’s opportunities. Across this edition of Nexus Magazine, you’ll see this shift reflected in different ways: in energy systems, urban infrastructure, investment priorities, policy settings and legacy assets being reconsidered through a new lens. Together, these shifts point to a future where the most valuable infrastructure will not simply be the infrastructure that performs well on day one. It will be the infrastructure that continues to hold its value as the world changes around it.
Anne-Marie Kirkman Strategic Growth Initiatives - Global Program Lead, GHD E
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