Paper Title
Infrastructure Delivery Performance: A Global Conundrum

Abstract
Globally, infrastructure development is pivotal and catalytic to local and national socio-economic growth and development. Sound and efficient infrastructure boosts investor confidence, thereby attracting investors. It also leads to efficient business transactions, reduces the cost of business, improves the quality of lives of citizenry, and improves country competiveness. Infrastructure programs improve job creation with concomitant broadening of tax and revenue bases. Countries have attempted to leverage the strengths of infrastructure development in efforts to bolster their economies, rolling out elaborate infrastructure programs to position themselves as preferred investment destinations. However, the global delivery track record for construction projects is not impressive. There is growing evidence that many mega-infrastructure projects usually fail. This paper reviews global and South African infrastructure delivery performance; explores and defines project success and failure and then shows, using six iconic global projects, how widespread project failure is. From the analysis, the paper then draws germane lessons to benefit future local project planning and implementation. In conclusion, the paper recommends four distinct areas of improvement considered critical and pivotal for South Africa to enhance its national mega-infrastructure delivery mechanism: alignment and refinement of strategic goals; improved project governance; enhanced strategic coordination; and strengthen project integration. Index Terms- Infrastructure, Project implementation performance, Project delivery, Project success