Industry fund-owned IFM Investors has proposed a new way of financing infrastructure construction that it believes will create thousands of jobs and better meet the needs of governments and regulators.
“Our Building Australia Model will help us build back better – it would create jobs, boost the economy as we recover from [COVID-19], and protect and grow the retirement savings of millions of working Australians,” said IFM chief executive David Neal. “IFM Investors is ready to invest billions of dollars in job-creating Australian infrastructure projects – we are putting forward this constructive proposal to help us do just that.”
The Building Australia Model aims to reduce the risk of cost blowouts and delays on major greenfield projects and will transfer risk to the private sector, avoiding cost overruns that could hurt taxpayers. It will sit alongside existing commitments of $19.5 billion by industry super and will “supercharge” the infrastructure pipeline already committed by industry funds.
“This model is a win for taxpayers and it’s a win for working Australians: it will help grow their superannuation returns, while delivering them the public benefit of better infrastructure now and into the future,” Mr Neal said.
