As the world becomes more digitally connected, and smarter cities & infrastructure are becoming increasingly popular, the cost of building and maintaining these assets is a significant challenge. For instance, Frost and Sullivan forecast Investment in smart cities will grow from US$ 97 Billion in 2019 to US$ 325 Billion in 2025, far outstripping the financial capabilities of cities and even governments. 

With such high pressure to deploy infrastructure, the great news for regional authorities is that there is significant funding now available. Not only has very substantial Federal funds been released through the IIJA and Inflation Reduction Act, but significant private financing is also ready to be deployed for infrastructure. Public Private Partnerships (P3s), a tool which is in widespread use internationally and increasingly in the US, are a viable option for financing and managing these projects. Such partnerships bring together the expertise and resources of the private sector with the public sector’s mandate to provide public services. This panel will explore finance availability, the P3 model and the potential revenue streams that can be built into such models.