CoST Chair Rajiv Lall spoke at the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) annual conference 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday 23rd September. He participated in the “Delivering infrastructure with integrity, quality, and sustainability – leading by example to deliver a better society” plenary session, with an estimated 250+ people in attendance.

In his session, he married his experience as Chair of CoST – The Infrastructure Transparency Initiative – with his wealth of private sector and private financing experience to discuss the business case for contractors and governments to work together to deliver infrastructure with integrity. If this can be achieved, then it can open new markets, increase competition, and drive efficiencies.

Rajiv explained how this can only be achieved by building a culture of trust between businesses, governments and civil society. This was brought to light in a practical way through sharing examples, such as how CoST Uganda’s work led to an increase in number of bids. He spoke about how members across Africa had fostered this culture of trust and improved the quality and sustainability of infrastructure delivery through the CoST approach.

Rajiv also spoke about how CoST is built on standardised, open data; turning that data into actionable information; and multi-stakeholder working. This helps ensure that when governments spend money on public infrastructure the process is transparent, the money is used efficiently, the works are of high-quality, and communities can take part in shaping the results to meet local needs now and in the future. We have 21 members across the globe, including seven in Africa.

The discussion was extremely timely with a global private sector survey conducted by CoST last year showing us that only 30% of respondents have confidence in the marketplace; and less than a quarter believe that companies compete fairly on equal contractual terms.

The private sector, government and civil society all share a common interest in an approach to infrastructure development which is transparent and builds trust; the CoST approach to data publication and multi-stakeholder working helps ensure contractors compete fairly and openly, and the public get the infrastructure they need.

Alongside demonstrating our strong knowledge and experience with the private sector, our work was highlighted in the “Global Showcase 2025” session, with Richard Stump, Chairman of FIDIC’s Integrity Management Committee, referring to CoST several times as a partner of FIDIC, and an organisation that they want to continue strengthening their relationship with, as part of efforts to strengthen integrity management at all levels, which you can watch below.

CoST, the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) is a leading global non-profit improving transparency, participation, and accountability in infrastructure to deliver quality infrastructure that improves lives and strengthens economies. Stay up to date with our latest work through our newsletter and our social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter and Facebook.