The concept of infrastructure and its specificity
<\/strong>Infrastructure, although not clearly defined in professional literature (general definitions describing infrastructure as the foundation of the economy prevail), can be quite precisely identified thanks to the consensus of views regarding its specific features, such as technical and economic indivisibility, long gestation period and long service life, immobility, and high capital intensity. Among the elements of technical infrastructure, linear and point transport infrastructure facilities dominate. Others include basic facilities for water management, energy, and communications. According to A. Piskozub’s functional definition, “Infrastructure is man-made, permanently located, linear and point public utility facilities that form the basis of socio-economic life, due to the functions of moving people and cargo (transport), messages (communications), electricity (energy), and water (water management)”.<\/p>
Problems with classifying selected objects as infrastructure are solved by introducing the concept of superstructure for devices that do not have infrastructure features but are an element of equipment for transport lines or points (for example, warehouses or transshipment equipment).
In common parlance, the term infrastructure is currently overused and usually used as a synonym for any “development” or “foundation”. Often, some of the objects classified in this way as infrastructure of various industries do not have the specific features of infrastructure, which introduces some terminological confusion. For example, the term “tourism infrastructure” used in the tourism industry includes, alongside transport infrastructure, also hotels or restaurants, which do not have the specificity of infrastructure facilities. The same applies to the terms “logistics infrastructure” or “warehouse infrastructure”. In both of these concepts, some objects are simply so-called superstructure (for example, warehouses), and only some are infrastructure of transport, communications, or energy, i.e., components of infrastructure defined in professional literature.<\/p>
Language is alive and introducing new terms along with the development of the economy is not reprehensible, however, in the case of infrastructure, extending the scope of this concept to various arbitrary elements is not appropriate, especially if it happens in professional literature. With terminological arbitrariness, not only do strange situations occur where transport infrastructure is treated, depending on the industry, as part of warehouse or tourism infrastructure, but above all, it is difficult to talk about the characteristic features of completely different objects. Meanwhile, the specific features of infrastructure cause specific economic and organizational consequences. Therefore, the unambiguity of this term is highly recommended.<\/p>
The specificity of infrastructure (which, of course, does not apply to buildings, warehouses, hotels, or restaurants) makes it necessary to follow the principle of prospective planning of its development in the process of its development, international coordination of basic development directions, allocating large investment outlays for its development, and a significant share of the state in financing infrastructure. The long implementation period of infrastructure entails a long period of freezing the incurred outlays and a significant delay in effects. In addition, infrastructure investments are often unique, implemented in different conditions, and related to the terrain, which means that unforeseen technical problems appear during implementation, translating into economic problems, and as a result, the implementation time of infrastructure facilities often exceeds the previously planned one.
Knowledge of the features of transport infrastructure and their consequences is a prerequisite for a particularly careful preparation of the investment process, including:<\/p>
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complementary investments<\/div>
<\/li>all conditions for achieving the assumed effects, including in particular threats related to delays or extension of the investment cycle, or failure to implement some complementary facilities.<\/div>
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<\/ul>This analysis must take into account the currently rapidly changing conditions and the risk of using substitute solutions, which sometimes radically affect the rank and profitability of implementing infrastructure investments in transport. The development of new markets, the development of economic integration and the changes in existing transport relations associated with these trends, as well as strong competition, have meant that prolonged investments, necessary for the realization of new transport needs, may lead to the use of alternative solutions (for example, transport needs will be met in a different way than previously planned or will change as a result of adjusting production to infrastructure constraints, etc.). The losses associated with this can be significant; a change in demand most often causes not only less usefulness or even uselessness of the completed infrastructure facilities, but also permanent changes in spatial development. Situations where such “misguided” infrastructure is liquidated are rare. Usually, it remains an obstacle in land development.
Contemporary changes in the global economy, and at the same time new technologies, technical progress, and the development of logistics have caused that on the one hand, the economy forces the acceleration of the infrastructure development process, and on the other hand, progress in construction has meant that facilities can be implemented in extremely difficult, often even extreme conditions.<\/p>The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 3\/2010.<\/p>