Impact of project financiers’ strategies on de-risking infrastructural projects: A conceptual review

Abstract

Infrastructure projects encounter significant risks which often deter financiers from investing in them. To address these risks, financiers have developed and applied several strategies aimed at encouraging investment. Therefore, this study reviewed several literatures from the past ten years on the strategy used by both public and private financiers to reduce risks and encourage investment in infrastructure projects. From the literature reviewed, several strategies such as risk allocation & mitigation, blended finance, issuance of green bonds, and stakeholders’ engagement in project selection were utilized by major project financiers in making investment decisions. Other factors such as political stability, economic indicators, insurance & guarantees, and legal & regulatory framework were also identified to positively impact investment decisions on infrastructure projects. From the findings, a conceptual framework linking the project financiers’ proxies (risk allocation & mitigation, blended finance, issuance of green bond, and stakeholders’ engagement in project selection) to that of the proxies of de-risking (political stability, economic indicators, insurance & guarantees, and legal & regulatory framework) was developed with the outcome showing the positive impact of both proxies on project financiers’ investment decision. The magnitude of the impact of each proxy on investment decisions is a subject of future study.