Reasons for a Joint Venture

In our chapter we focus on 7 primary reasons for using a joint venture to procure and deliver infrastructure projects:

• Regulatory requirements
• Pooling of resources and/or capabilities
• Optimising the supply chain
• Boosting balance sheet strength
• Sharing risk
• Enhancing competitiveness
• Improving geographical and/or local knowledge

The benefit of pandemic hindsight reinforces our view that the reasons for joint venturing are not only constant but also more relevant than before.

Policy responses at a country level strongly influence economic performance (and in this context recovery).  We know from research from Oxford Economics that spending increases are much more effective than tax cuts in supporting real growth and that a high percentage of fiscal spending goes into infrastructure which boosts competitiveness and economic performance.  Said differently an economic rebound is likely to see a large rise in infrastructure projects formed over the next period to deliver the larger levels of fiscal spending. This will in turn lead to a larger than normal rise in the formation of JVs and we are already beginning to see this.  Many countries across the globe have stated their intention to follow an infrastructure led economic recovery.

Graham Robinson notes that some of the larger construction markets are likely to see a drop of about 7% in construction output in 2020 and 2021 (compared to a drop of 2.9% in the Global Financial Crisis) but that in the run up to 2020 we had already experienced a significant weakening of grow in construction.

Although many markets will remain variable for the short term:

• North America has put in a massive US$2 trillion stimulus package which will help prop up the economy.
• Europe has put in a EUR750 billion stimulus package.
• The Chinese construction market contracted by 16% in the first quarter but is already regaining momentum.
• Growth in Australia had already contracted in 2019 and is expected to see a double digit fall in 2020 but with recovery in 2021 and 2022 being equally sharp.

• We expect to see:
  • a significant increase in infrastructure spend, including on projects;
  • a huge acceleration in the use of technology to improve construction which has significantly lagged other sectors such as manufacturing.
  • the nascent market in off-site manufacturing becoming explosive in terms of growth;
  • convoluted global supply-chains being simplified over the coming decade with greater focus on regional and domestic capabilities; and
  • we traditionally expect to see around a 20% acceleration in the formation of new JVs in an upturn cycle but following an unprecedented event and with large infrastructure focused stimulus programmes being implemented globally to stabilise economies we expect to see a much larger acceleration in the formation of JVs to deliver these stimulus programmes.