As governments pour billions into infrastructure, project owners and construction contractors are optimistic about prospects for the year ahead, a new survey has found.

For its Capital Projects Outlook report for 2021, construction project management software provider InEight surveyed 300 professionals from large enterprise, capital project and construction firms across the civil, commercial and multi-residential sectors throughout Europe, the Americas and the Asia Pacific (APAC).

Overall, it found that 91 percent of contractors and 93 percent of project owners are either somewhat optimistic or very optimistic about their prospects over the next twelve months.

In addition, 87 percent of contractors and 93 percent of owners felt their organisations were either somewhat resilient or very resilient.

Leading the way is The Americas followed by APAC.

All up, 95 percent of respondents in The America’s are optimistic, followed by 93 percent in APAC and 87 percent in Europe.

Such confidence also reflects an improvement in conditions on the ground.

Across all regions, 68 percent of respondents say that capital spending has increased over the past year in their sector – a number which far outstrips the 13 percent who say that capital spending has decreased.

Largely speaking, the outlook reflects massive levels of expenditure as governments look to construction to support the COVID economic recovery and to respond to other challenges such as climate change.

In the US, a $US1.2 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure deal over eight years which was struck in June will see money pumped into roads, electric vehicle infrastructure, broadband, airports, drinking water systems and resiliency efforts to tackle climate change.

In Europe, a $US1.21 trillion European Green Deal was struck shortly before the pandemic whilst a $US2.17 budget recovery package was struck late last year.

Outside of stimulus plans, meanwhile, many respondents feel that the coming year provides opportunities for digital transformation.

Asked to rank opportunities in order out of five areas, respondents ranked this ahead of economic growth and recovery, data collection and insights, sustainable building products and practices and investment in people and skills.

On the flip side, however, economic stagnation and recession was cited as the biggest risk factor to organisations in these sectors followed by a lag in digital transformation and staff and skill shortages.

In other survey results:

• Owners/contractors say that 47 percent/51 percent of their projects respectively are completed on or ahead of schedule whilst 45 percent/51 percent come in on or under budget.
• Going forward, respondents believe that percent 83 of their projects will be delivered within time and budget into the future – a marked improvement on the 48 percent of projects on which this is being achieved now (refer below).
• Planning and scheduling ranks as the most important task in delivering projects within time and budget. This is followed by project execution, resource management, data transparency/visibility and estimating accuracy.
• Artificial intelligence/machine learning is cited as a technology which will be critical to organisational success over the next 1-3 years, along with data analytics and project management software.
• Most commonly cited benefits of technology adoption include higher projectivity, better risk management, greater competitive edge, cost savings and efficiencies and safety improvements.
• Difficulty in integrating current systems was cited as a barrier along with lack of available capital and difficulty of implementation.

With regard to the confidence levels about delivering project on-time and on-budget going forward, the report partially attributes this to  a move toward a more open and collaborative way of working with greater data sharing and fairer allocation of risk.

Another factor involves move toward becoming more adept at planning and estimating as well as identifying upfront risks to create more digitally based budgets and schedules.

In its report, InEight says the industry remains optimistic about future prospects.

“When asked — at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — whether it was optimistic about its future prospects, the global construction industry responds with a resounding ‘yes’,” the report read.

“Companies believe themselves to be resilient, equipped for growth, and on the cusp of better days.

“However, optimism shouldn’t be mistaken for naivety — the industry is well aware of the challenges to come.”