The public wants to see infrastructure projects done regardless of how they are paid for.
That is revealed in a new report by The Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Saskatchewan (CMC-Saskatchewan).
It has been two years since the first report from the group entitled Think Big! which documented how the province take steps to establish an urban regional area to ensure stable economic growth.
The second report comes after the downturn in the economy and focuses on how infrastructure spending can further boost and sustain that growth.
The report shows Saskatchewan’s public infrastructure has an average age of 17.6 years, well above the national average and the third highest among the provinces.
It maintains an investment of $53 billion over the next decade or more is needed to generate $89 billion in economic activity.
The surprise in the report is the research shows the public just wants the work done, regardless of how it gets paid for.
“The public actually seemed to be more interested in making sure the infrastructure was available than the ideology behind how it was created and financed,” Larry Hiles with Practice Consulting explained.
“Some of those would be user fees, some would public-private partnership. The public seemed to be interested in, again, get it done. There are avenues available to do it.”
CMC-Saskatchewan recommends an assessment tool be created to help municipalities and other levels of government make fully informed infrastructure investment decisions.