The Enabling Better Infrastructure (EBI) International Conference, convened by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), took place on 10 October 2025 at ICE headquarters in London. This exclusive event drew an influential gathering of policymakers, strategic planners, and infrastructure experts from around the globe, all focused on advancing national infrastructure planning and delivery. The conference spotlighted the EBI Programme, which ICE positions as a framework for international best practice in identifying and achieving infrastructure goals that meet countries' long-term needs.

Keynote speakers included Hon Chris Bishop, New Zealand's Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Transport, and Jordan Schwartz, Executive Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), who shared insights from their diverse regional experiences in infrastructure prioritisation and delivery. The presence of delegates from a 20-country network underscored the event’s global reach, fostering an exchange of strategies to overcome shared challenges in infrastructure strategic planning. Attendees engaged with tested tools and innovative approaches designed to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of infrastructure investments over horizons spanning 10 to 50 years.

The conference was positioned as a pivotal occasion for driving purposeful and certain infrastructure decisions at the country level—a vision essential for shaping the socio-economic fabric for decades to come. ICE emphasised that well-planned infrastructure lies at the heart of resilient and prosperous societies, highlighting the urgency for coordinated, strategic action in infrastructure development worldwide.

This international gathering in London reflected a broader pattern of high-profile infrastructure and asset management events throughout 2025. For instance, the IAM Global Conference earlier that year brought together global thought leaders in asset management to explore cutting-edge tools and best practices, highlighting the critical role of asset stewardship in sustaining infrastructure value. Similarly, the Global Infrastructure Investor Association’s London conference in June focused on key infrastructure investment trends, featuring top industry voices discussing financing and development strategies in the sector.

Additionally, other forums like the UK's Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds emphasized public-private collaboration in regeneration aligned with national agendas such as Build Back Better and Levelling Up. Meanwhile, the Infrastructure Forum at Innovation Zero World tackled pressing environmental challenges, underscoring the imperative for green infrastructure investments that align with net-zero goals, climate mitigation, and adaptation priorities.

Together, these events illustrate a multifaceted global effort to align infrastructure planning, investment, and management with long-term economic, social, and environmental objectives. The ICE’s Enabling Better Infrastructure International Conference carved out a distinctive role in this landscape by fostering a uniquely international dialogue focused on precise, country-level infrastructure planning frameworks to drive purposeful, sustainable development worldwide.

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Source: Noah Wire Services