STA SMART TALKS ROUNDTABLE: EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING IN EUROPE
STA is pleased to announce the release of the latest episode of the STA Smart Talks, wherein STA President and Host, Dr José F. Papí, engages in a compelling debate on the future of Infrastructure Financing in Europe with Dr Prof José Manuel Vassallo, Member of the Transport Research Centre (TRANSyT) at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), and Dr Prof Thierry Vanelslander, Professor at the Department of Transport and Regional Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Antwerp.
The roundtable discussion is structured around six questions and aims to underscore the significance of transport infrastructure financing, drawing from a previous STA survey conducted in 2018 on emerging challenges and trends shaping EU transport infrastructures.
The opening discourse is a reference to the survey, which was also published in the Discussion Paper 1/2019, Key Challenges for the Smart Transportation Infrastructures of the Future, wherein over half (65%) of respondents expressed that European infrastructures are not cost-effective. Dr Prof Thierry Vanelslander emphasises the necessity of European funding despite prevailing concerns over the efficacy of infrastructure investments, citing instances of underperformance, mostly in port projects, in the context of efforts between the University of Antwerp and the European Court of Auditors. Dr Prof José Manuel Vassallo highlights misallocations of funds, particularly towards passenger transport over freight.
Additional discussions highlight respondents' unawareness of real infrastructure costs and the need for transparent pricing models. Both experts expressed the need for enhanced European involvement, prioritisation of cross-border projects, and the adoption of tolls and fares as viable financing options.
In regards to the challenges for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), emphasis is placed on contract design and risk distribution, with Dr Prof. Thierry Vanelslander adding that it is the public sector's responsibility to mitigate legislative risks. Dr Prof José Manuel Vassallo expresses his agreement with the above-mentioned and notes a decline in European PPPs and the proliferation of such partnerships in other regions, with increasing risk allocations to the private sector.
Moving toward the end of the episode, the two experts analyse a new concept unfolding in Europe, the EU Taxonomy system, that has been debated in two previous episodes of the STA Smart Talks. Without a doubt, the EU Taxonomy will have a high impact on the future of transport infrastructure financing. Dr Prof José Manuel Vassallo highlights that not everything labelled as ‘green’ can be considered ‘sustainable’. Dr Prof Thierry Vanelslander concurs and adds that there was a need to set an EU framework for the classification of the activities, which will also need maintenance and monitoring in the future.
Additionally, STA offered the STA Certified Programme in Transport Infrastructure Financing from 20 September 2021 to 24 September 2021, a certified online training introducing a wide range of available tools and strategies led by Prof Dr José Manuel Vassallo and Prof Dr Thierry Vanelslander. If you wish to access the recordings you can contact the STA Secretariat at: info@smart-transportation.org.
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Author: Eftychia Koliou (Smart Transportation Alliance)