by Fani Gelagoti
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Dr. Rallis Kourkoulis participated in the panel “Unlocking Transport Investment Through De-Risking” at the Transforming Transportation Conference 2026, alongside Anthony Molle, Global Manager at MIGA; Terence M. Smith, CEO of Smith’s Research and Gradings; Christoph Wolff, CEO of Smart Freight Center; and Jen JungEun Oh, Transport and Logistics Practice Manager at the World Bank. The session was moderated by Rudo Linda Munyengeterwa, Global Director of Transaction Advisory at IFC.
Much of the conversation focused on financial instruments—guarantees, blended finance, insurance mechanisms, and policy frameworks. Building on that discussion, Dr. Kourkoulis highlighted a less discussed but critical dimension of de-risking: the technical analytics behind project design.
He introduced the concept of “latent losses”—hidden systemic risks that often remain unmeasured and uninsured, yet gradually erode revenues and question the financial performance of infrastructure assets over time.
The implication is important: de-risking cannot rely solely on financial instruments applied after a project is structured.
Instead, risk should be treated as a design parameter of the project itself—allowing owners, planners, and financiers to optimize mitigation strategies and price it more accurately within the financial structure of PPPs and infrastructure investments.
Find out more: Session 10: Unlocking Transport Investment Through De-Risking and Closing Remarks
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