PROFILE
A long-term approach Tom Albanese , former CEO of Rio Tinto and current Chief Executive of Vedanta Resources , believes the industry needs to stop focussing on the short term . “ Projects that would have taken 3-5 years to develop in the 1980s are now taking 8-12 years and they need to be developed in this type of cycle .” He says .
This need for a more long term approach is a result of increased budgetary pressures placed on companies to complete projects , a by-product of “ the incredible expansion of the Chinese economy punctuated by an extraordinary recession ”.
A larger focus on projects taking longer is born out of a demand induced recovery in what Albanese believes is an “ equally extraordinary ” response from the world ’ s central banks .
But of course there are other key factors which affect the time scale of projects . Namely , the finances and infrastructure of local economies . “ There are some very large projects where the budget can start at $ 5 billion but then you put it in a remote community where those
‘ A larger focus on pro born out of a demand Albanese believes is response from the w
communities don ’ t have electricity . They don ’ t have the amenities that you would normally expect when working on a larger project . These communities simply don ’ t have the infrastructure .” Says Albenese .
The former chairman also discussed the impact of these projects on the local rural communities . Extensive extractive programmes can produce a significant change in the country ’ s economy , sometimes contributing up to 30percent of its Gross domestic
8 J uly 2016