Trumpeting a new age for US infrastructure

[caption id="attachment_867444" align="alignright" width="200"] Joseph Sitt[/caption] The election of Donald Trump as US president could be a big win for infrastructure. Trump ran on the platform of boosting investment in transportation, including modernising roads, bridges, railways and airports. If executed correctly, his recent promise to fund $1tn of projects over the next decade through public-private partnerships and private investments from tax incentives will go a long way towards improving US infrastructure. In a recent keynote speech to leaders of the Swiss banking, real estate and financial community at NZZ Real Estate Days – an annual conference organised by the Swiss Economic Forum – I applauded then-candidate Trump’s support for making big investments in infrastructure. I have been saying for many years that investing in modernising the infrastructure of the US will improve its economy as well as create much-needed jobs for the working class, and thus be a driver of economic wellbeing for all income levels. I am optimistic that president-elect Trump will execute on our mutual passion for this important initiative. As chairman and founder of the Global Gateway Alliance, a non-profit organisation established to address the major challenges facing the New York region’s ageing airport system and related infrastructure, I am a strong advocate in particular of modernising America’s deteriorating airport terminals, as well as expanding the capacity of major airports to reduce the delays that plague the nation’s aviation system and cost billions in lost time and productivity. Global standing After many years of debate, the British government recently announced its support for a third runway at Heathrow. At a time when the UK is rethinking how its national economy works, elected officials in Britain know they must facilitate investment in infrastructure and maintain their global standing as a major airport player. The decision comes a year after Heathrow dropped in the international rankings for passenger traffic by more than one place for the first time in over a decade, going from third to sixth. With president-elect Trump, the US is also poised to create the modern infrastructure that will make it a more global country, not isolated as some fear. Improvements to transportation as well as clean water, the electricity grid, telecommunications and security infrastructure will attract more visitors to the US for business as well as tourism. Despite some of the negative rhetoric in the presidential campaign, I also believe that Trump will govern the US in a more restrained manner than his campaign, and the world will soon see him send an olive branch to both the global political and business communities. Furthermore, if you examine how Trump has conducted his company affairs over the past decade, you will see he has actually been very conservative in managing his investments, reflecting a more measured decision maker than his campaign rhetoric and earlier business dealings might imply. Unfounded fears Similar to the Brexit vote, fears that a Trump presidency could hurt the global economy appear for the most part to be unfounded. In fact, the opposite has been true in the days following the election, with world markets reacting very favourably, in no small part because of his pledge to reverse the declining state of US infrastructure. The path forward may not be simple for the president-elect, but it is clear. It is time to take a page out of Britain’s book, and modernise America’s infrastructure for the 21st century. • Joseph Sitt is president and chief executive of Thor Equities