Infrastructure businesses are usually impacted by the tail end of recessions as demand for essential services flags or public counterparty risks increase. But from the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, it was clear that they were going to be impacted first. The initial phase of this crisis was not an economic shock but a state of emergency requiring nation-wide lockdowns, effectively shutting down most key transport links. The impact of the oncoming economic recession on infrastructure assets will only come later.

There is a compelling global need for greater infrastructure investment. Well-functioning infrastructure is critical to driving sustainable long-term economic growth. In many countries, it is becoming more challenging to meet funding requirements from traditional sources, such as public authorities and banks.

This is the second part of a two-part series on the infrastructure used to support agriculture. The first installment was featured in the May i3. Given all the emerging technology for agriculture, with the potential for many winners and losers before the sector matures, there is one resource that is both essential and irreplaceable, that has worked for investors in the past and will continue working into the foreseeable future: water.

At the best of times, it can be difficult to finance, maintain and ensure the long-term viability of infrastructure, given the needs and financing methods used to get projects under way. In the United States, for example, many infrastructure projects are funded by municipal bonds and taxes, whereas in parts of Europe, Canada and Australia, public-private partnerships (partnerships or P3) are an innovative finance model that has taken hold as a form of infrastructure procurement. The model’s ability to efficiently finance facilities, as well as allow for their public benefit, has been up for debate, however.

According to IREI’s FundTracker database, infrastructure fundraising in first quarter 2020 nearly matched fourth quarter 2019, with 14 funds raising more than $39 billion. In fourth quarter 2019, eight funds raised more than $41 billion.

At the start of 2020, nobody could have predicted the social and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. First detected in China, at the time of this writing, the virus has infected people in 185 countries. Businesses, shops, services and financial markets across the world have temporarily closed, with much of the population remaining indoors as efforts are made to combat the spread of the disease.

The City of Champaign, Ill., (population 88,000), where I have worked as the planning and development director for the last 31 years, maintains a 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) and updates it annually to ensure we are addressing the highest priority infrastructure projects. This is a process that requires a considerable commitment of staff time, as well as energy and focus from our city council.