An investigation of value capture as an alternative infrastructural project finance tool : a case study approach on Malta

Abstract

Currently, we live in a burgeoning urban population where the Maltese economy thrives on the infrastructural industry for the establishment of work opportunities in specific sectors.. As a consequence, developed societies demand superior transport accessibility to enhanced points of interest and increased amenities such as commercial centres that will generate more efficient services. For this reason, infrastructure investments have increased in popularity over the last few years. Three case studies, namely Smart City, Valletta2018 and Gozo-Malta Tunnel, have been selected to investigate whether the adoption of value capture financing for particular infrastructural projects will help to improve the financial health of the cities, augment the economic resources of the local governing bodies as well as still providing excellent infrastructure for the public. The research considers the economic efficiency, equity, sustainability and feasibility of the technique in order to gauge its applicability in Malta. The results showed that with the polarization of politics in Malta, this system will be hard to successfully implement because government make broad decisions to avoid negatively impacting their perception from the public.