New and emerging technologies, such as drones fitted with sensors, BIM (building information modeling), autonomous vehicles and blockchain, to name a few, are being touted as keys to more productive and efficient operations, and in today’s low-return environment, eking out every bit of value from infrastructure investments is increasingly important. While mass acceptance and usage of some new technologies may still be a ways off due to safety, regulatory or policy issues, they can impact infrastructure assets today. Autonomous vehicles, for example, are now used along with drones to support transportation and export infrastructure around mining sites, and are starting to be used for other civil infrastructure projects.

In today’s era of accelerating technological change, it would be natural for investors to anticipate the future with a mix of exuberance and caution. Consider recent advances in the automotive industry. After more than a century of reliance on one basic technology — the internal combustion engine — the combination of simultaneous development across communications, mass data storage and processing, radar, laser and camera systems, lithium-ion batteries, and electric motors stands ready to dramatically alter our existing cars and transportation systems.

Utilities Australia’s largest pipeline company APA Group jumped 11.1 percent in June following Hong Kong–based CK Infrastructure’s $9.5 billion bid during the month. In an ASX release on June 13, the APA Board stated it makes “no recommendation” to CKI’s “unsolicited proposal” and advised shareholders to take no action at this stage. At the end […]