Infrastructure

Elevating project ideas from a rough conceptual outline to an investable proposal is the foundation of every successful infrastructure venture. However, many projects get stuck in the early planning phase and fail to take the decisive step from idea to concrete planning and financing solutions.

We support our clients in growing projects from an idea into investment decisions, covering commercial, political, technical, environmental, social, as well as legal and regulatory dimensions. As a result, we provide a commercially viable business case and a customized commercial structure that aligns stakeholder interests. This enables our clients to swiftly take the project forward to successful implementation.

Most infrastructure projects face political, commercial, regulatory, technical, and environmental risks that fundamentally endanger project implementation and pose significant hurdles to financing.

We support our clients in analyzing and mapping the risks inherent to their infrastructure projects. Based on the results, we craft a tailor-made de-risking architecture, set up an implementation plan, and support negotiations with project partners. We always take an integrated approach that covers all risk dimensions.

Many infrastructure projects around the world end up behind schedule and over budget. This is often due to structural weaknesses in project organization, inappropriate governance and flawed planning.

We support our clients in getting it right from the start. This requires strong sector experience and an in-depth understanding of the project's stakeholder environment. We help our clients set up a fit-for-purpose project organization in order to both strategically govern their project from the start, and to keep it on track throughout implementation.

Large infrastructure projects are highly complex and vulnerable to crisis situations, including large budget overshoots and delays. These kind of developments can cause projects to derail financially and endanger the reputation of project owners.

Our experienced team sets up a crisis Project Management Office (PMO) to stabilize a project in distress. We bring together experts from different fields to swiftly address all bottlenecks. To keep a tight grip on implementation, we set up an integrated project plan and manage day-to-day implementation hands-on. By taking a holistic view and driving for pragmatic solutions, the PMO rapidly puts the project back on track.

Legal and regulatory frameworks are crucial for the commercial success of an infrastructure project. However, these can change during the project’s lifecycle, creating risks as well as opportunities for infrastructure investors and operators.

We support our clients in effectively preparing or adapting their infrastructure projects for the challenges and opportunities of regulatory change. We start by assessing the robustness of business cases using scenario planning and sensitivity analysis, then develop flexible strategies for coping with shifts in regulatory conditions. Our team helps clients to actively manage stakeholder coalitions and shape the regulatory environment to seize opportunities arising from regulatory change.

Existing infrastructure operations often do not yield sufficient revenues or free cash for reinvestment. Operations are often inefficient and leave opportunities for value creation untapped.

For integrated infrastructures such as airports, seaports, or industrial sites, we identify new opportunities to optimize the way they operate and do business. We cut through the complexity of integrated operations and create transparency on different sub-businesses and their underlying business models. We help clients understand the potential for value creation in their portfolio and optimize each business activity accordingly. This approach boosts revenues and efficiency, freeing up equity for new investments.