As an academic, I ask myself that all the time. My students and I are desperate for information to provide the real evidence of how these projects are performing, both in the PPP space and the traditional space. How do they compare? What are the comparable experiences in terms of cost over-runs, in terms of asset maintenance?
We hear a lot of numbers and a lot of contentions about how these projects are performing. We have very little data, real hard data, in this country to be able to undertake those assessments. I think the bank could help us understand the impact of the procurement models and the the type of projects we're selecting, and also the impact of the different contractors. Can we learn about which contractors are performing well and under what circumstances, so that we can deliver infrastructure better into the future?
I think that's the potential of the data collection portion of the bank, and it shouldn't be downplayed. I think it's really significant.