AFR National Infrastructure Summit

• Australia’s top investors, planners, contractors, advisers and policy-makers came together from 14-15 October 2020 at what is the nation’s premier infrastructure event, the Australian Financial Review National Infrastructure Summit, this year virtually delivered out of Sydney with the theme Infrastructure beyond the crisis.

Yesterday Infrastructure CEO Bede Noonan appeared at the Summit as a panellist discussing Megaprojects – do we still need them?, with the panel moderated by Jenny Wiggins, Senior Companies Reporter at AFR. Bede appeared alongside Andrew Head, CEO, Westconnex; Marco Assorati, Executive Director Asia Pacific, Webuild; and Linda Cantan, Package Director, Tunnel & Stations PPP, Metro Tunnel, Rail Projects Victoria.

The panel tackled various issues associated with megaprojects spanning risk allocation, ongoing viability of megaprojects, a shift in focus from urban to regional projects, and also canvassed the impact of regional border closures. You can read more on the views expressed by the panel by viewing the embedded Sway below titled Workers stuck in WA for six months.

On Tuesday our global CEO Jose Manuel Entrecanales delivered the international keynote address to the summit remotely. He talked candidly about the impact of COVID, and the opportunities ACCIONA sees in Australia while citing the country as one of the most promising markets for infrastructure.

The Australian Financial Review National Infrastructure Summit has firmly established itself as Australia’s premier forum for government, contractors, analysts and academics to discuss and announce major projects driving growth for smarter, more efficient cities.

Now in its sixth year, the Summit provides political debate, exclusive industry perspectives and a comprehensive overview of the project pipeline, creating an unmissable event for all infrastructure insiders.

Read more about Bede Noonan's view on current state border closures, and the effects it has on construction here.