Implementation of smart contracts in infrastructure investment projects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26906/EiR.2026.2(101).4654Keywords:
smart contract, blockchain, infrastructure investments, project finance, asset tokenization, public-private partnership, digital financial ecosystem, financial infrastructureAbstract
The article substantiates the feasibility of using smart contracts as a tool for digitalizing investment processes in infrastructure projects. It is shown that contemporary literature in finance, digital assets, and project management increasingly considers blockchain and smart contracts not as isolated information technologies, but as elements of a new financial infrastructure capable of reducing transaction costs, minimizing information asymmetry, enhancing transparency of settlements, and forming new models of capital mobilization. The purpose of the study is to develop methodological provisions for the implementation of smart contracts in infrastructure investments at the intersection of project finance, asset tokenization, digital monitoring, and automated execution of contractual obligations. As a result, a five-contour model for the implementation of smart contracts in infrastructure project financing is substantiated, which includes the investment contour, the contractual-logical contour, the data and oracles contour, the settlement and payment contour, and the regulatory and legal support contour. It is proved that the greatest effect of smart contracts is achieved in the areas of automating milestone payments, issuance and circulation of tokenized claims or project debt instruments, monitoring the targeted use of funds, supervision in public-private partnership projects, as well as in minimizing disputes regarding the fulfillment of contractual conditions. The scientific novelty lies in the formation of a methodological approach according to which a smart contract is not equated with a complete replacement of a traditional contract, but is considered as a hybrid digital module of financial infrastructure that encodes standardized and verifiable parts of an investment agreement. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of their application by public authorities, concession grantors, development banks, institutional investors, and project companies in building digital financial ecosystems for infrastructure investments.
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Sharma, G. D., Tiwari, A. K., Chopra, R., & Dev, D. (2024). Past, present, and future of block-chain in finance. Journal of Business Research, is. 177, 114640. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114640 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114640
Ren, Y., Ma, C., Chen, X., Lei, Y., & Wang, Y. (2023). Sustainable finance and blockchain: A systematic review and research agenda. Research in International Business and Finance, is. 64, 101871. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101871 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2022.101871
Chung, K. H. Y., Li, D., & Adriaens, P. (2023). Technology-enabled financing of sustainable infrastructure: A case for blockchains and decentralized oracle networks. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, is. 187, 122258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122258 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122258
Chen, Y., & Volz, U. (2022). Scaling up sustainable investment through blockchain-based project bonds. Development Policy Review, is. 40(3), e12582. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12582 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12582
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Bongini, P., Osborne, F., Pedrazzoli, A., & Rossolini, M. (2022). A topic modelling analysis of white papers in security token offerings: Which topic matters for funding? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, is. 184, 122005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122005
Swinkels, L. (2023). Empirical evidence on the ownership and liquidity of real estate tokens. Financial Innovation, is. 9, 45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-022-00427-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-022-00427-5
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Taherdoost, H. (2023). Smart Contracts in Blockchain Technology: A Critical Review. Information, is. 14(2), 117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/info14020117 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/info14050295
Wu, L., Lu, W., & Xu, J. (2022). Blockchain-based smart contract for smart payment in construction: A focus on the payment freezing and disbursement cycle. Frontiers of Engineering Management, is. 9, pp. 177-195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42524-021-0184-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42524-021-0184-y
Hamledari, H., & Fischer, M. (2021). Construction payment automation using blockchain-enabled smart contracts and robotic reality capture technologies. Automation in Construction, is. 132, 103926. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2021.103926 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2021.103926
Kamel, M. A., Bakhoum, E. S., & Marzouk, M. M. (2023). A framework for smart construction contracts using BIM and blockchain. Scientific Reports, is. 13, 10217. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37353-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37353-0
Tafuro, A., Dammacco, G., & Costa, A. (2023). A Conceptual Study on the Role of Blockchain in Sustainable Development of Public–Private Partnership. Administrative Sciences, is. 13(8), 175. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13080175 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13080175
Eze, E. C., & Ameyaw, E. E. (2025). Potential application areas and benefits of blockchain-enabled smart contracts adoption in infrastructure Public-private partnership (PPP) projects. Sustainable Futures, is. 9, 100477. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100477 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100477
Du, Y., Yuan, J., Wang, S., Liu, Y., & Zeng, N. (2025). Leveraging blockchain to anchor information for supervision in PPP projects: A conceptual framework. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, is. 32(4), pp. 2745–2770. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-07-2023-0758 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-07-2023-0758
Agapiou, A. (2023). Overcoming the Legal Barriers to the Implementation of Smart Contracts in the Construction Industry: The Emergence of a Practice and Research Agenda. Buildings, is. 13(3), 594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030594 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030594
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