Transportation infrastructure will need technology to help meet the needs of a growing urban population, and political will to fuel major projects and investor confidence. In the U.S., where a proposed bipartisan $2-trillion federal bill for infrastructure has met with skepticism, public-private partnerships are an ongoing potential tool despite a lack of overarching national guidelines.
Tim McManus, vice president of global projects for McKinsey & Co., noted that the global population will grow from over 7 billion to almost 10 billion in the next 30 years. Moreover, the population of those 65 years and older will grow from 600 million to 1.3 billion ,and the middle class will grow by 2.4 billion over the next 20 years. “Every year, 60 million people move into cities,” he said. “This will transform infrastructure development as we know it. It won’t be the same old, same old in technology and investments.”