Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 22-23 February 2020: Thank you Chair and thank you again to the Saudi Arabian Presidency for the wonderful hospitality.
The GI Hub is pleased to be actively working with the G20 on the delivery of the infrastructure priorities for this year, as well as to continue work on the implementation of the Roadmap to Infrastructure as an Asset Class and on the Principles for Quality Infrastructure (QII) Investment.
The InfraTech Agenda presents an opportunity for G20 members to come together to harness the benefits that technology can bring to infrastructure, thereby unlocking greater efficiency, resilience, and value for money in infrastructure investments.
The InfraTech Agenda is a direct continuation of the QII agenda from the Japanese presidency, and the endorsed QII Principles from last year.
This year’s priorities will have a direct impact on the economic efficiency of projects across their life cycle, enabling and streamlining environmental and social considerations within projects.
Last but not least, it can further enable private investment, as InfraTech will help contribute to de-risking projects.
It is important to remember that there are differences between member countries which will determine their ability to implement InfraTech and the nature of solutions that will be appropriate. Through our current work on the use-case library, we intend to provide practical examples that will be relevant to all G20 members.
Similarly, through the work the G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) has asked us to facilitate, we will compile case studies and project examples that show how implementation of the G20’s QII Principles can be realised in practical terms. This is well aligned with the call to focus on implementation mentioned by countries today.
We very much look forward to pursuing the work this year, working with G20 members and our colleagues in the World Bank Group, OECD, multilateral development banks and international organisations, and thank the Presidency and Co-Chairs of the IWG for this opportunity.
I would also like to take a moment to thank the outgoing Co-Chair of the Infrastructure Working Group from Australia, Mr. Damien Dunn, who has been a very effective Co-Chair of the group.
Infrastructure Technology
