For example, when infrastructure projects are solely publicly funded, the usual incentives to build and operate efficiently—the incentives to avoid bankruptcy and to make a profit—are not the driving motive behind the investment. The most efficient and timely allocation of resources for infrastructure occurs when the incentives are right. And that framework of incentives usually includes some expectation of profit.
This applies  1  This is partly due to varying definitions of infrastructure and the high level of subjectivity involved in assessing "need." The Government of Ontario, for example, estimates that the cost of correcting past underinvestment and of building the public facilities that the province needs to accommodate future growth may exceed $ billion.