What Is a Capital Project?

什么是资本项目？

A capital project is a long-term, capital-intensive investment to build upon, add to, or improve a capital asset. Capital projects are defined by their large scale and large cost relative to other investments that involve less planning and resources.

资本项目是建立、增加或改善资本资产的长期资本密集型投资。资本项目的定义是，相对于涉及较少规划和资源的其他投资，它们的规模大，成本高。

Understanding Capital Projects

关于资本项目

A capital project is a large-scale project with a high cost that is capitalized or depreciated.

资本项目是一个大规模的项目，成本很高，需要资本化或折旧。

Regular capital investments, such as new facilities, structures, or systems, may be necessary to accelerate growth within a company or government—for example, if a company wants to build a new warehouse or purchase new manufacturing equipment to increase efficiency on the factory line.

常规资本投资，如新设施、结构或系统，可能是加速公司或政府内部增长所必需的，例如，如果一家公司想要建造一个新仓库或购买新的制造设备来提高生产线的效率。

Capital projects must be managed appropriately, for they require a significant commitment of company resources and time. The project assumes a calculated risk with the expectation that the capital asset pays off. Management of risk is a key driver of successful project development and delivery of a capital project.

资本项目必须得到适当的管理，因为它们需要公司投入大量的资源和时间。该项目假设了一个计算过的风险，并期望资本资产有所回报。风险管理是资本项目成功开发和交付的关键驱动因素。

Examples of Capital Projects

资本项目示例

The most common examples of capital projects are infrastructure projects such as railways, roads, and dams. In addition, these projects include assets such as subways, pipelines, refineries, power plants, land, and buildings.

资本项目最常见的例子是基础设施项目，如铁路、公路和大坝。此外，这些项目还包括地铁、管道、炼油厂、发电厂、土地和建筑物等资产。

Capital projects are also common in corporations. Corporations allocate large amounts of resources (financial and human capital) to build or maintain capital assets, such as equipment or a new manufacturing project. In both cases, capital projects are typically planned and discussed at length to decide the most efficient and resourceful plan of execution.

资本项目在公司中也很常见。公司分配大量资源（财务和人力资本）来建立或维护资本资产，如设备或新的制造项目。在这两种情况下，资本项目通常都经过详细的计划和讨论，以决定最有效和最灵活的执行计划。

Capital Project Funding

资本项目融资

These projects are big, take time to complete, and can cost a lot of money, meaning it is often necessary to obtain equity or debt financing to make them happen. To receive funding, capital projects are obligated to prove how the investment provides an improvement (additional capacity), new useful feature, or benefit (reduced costs).

这些项目很大，需要时间来完成，并可能花费大量资金，这意味着通常需要获得股权或债务融资才能实现这些项目。为了获得资金，资本项目有义务证明投资如何推动（额外容量）的提升、新的有用功能或益处（降低成本）。

Additional funding sources for these projects include bonds, grants, bank loans, existing cash reserves, company operation budgets, and private funding. These projects may require debt financing to secure funding. Debt financing may also be required for infrastructure, such as bridges. However, the bridge cannot be seized if the builder defaults on the loan. Debt financing ensures that the financier can recover funds if the builder defaults on the loan.

这些项目的其他资金来源包括债券、赠款、银行贷款、现有现金储备、公司运营预算和私募资金。这些项目可能需要债务融资来获得资金。桥梁等基础设施也可能需要债务融资。但是，如果建筑商拖欠贷款，桥梁就不能被查封。债务融资确保了如果建筑商拖欠贷款，融资者可以收回资金。

In the United States, Congress is responsible for funding public capital projects, such as roads, power lines, bridges, and dams.

在美国，国会负责为公共资本项目提供资金，如道路、电线、桥梁和大坝。

What are capital projects in government?

什么是政府的资本项目？

Government capital projects are large-scale, costly projects to maintain or improve public assets, such as parks, roads, and schools.

政府资本项目是维护或改善公共资产（如公园、道路和学校）的大规模、高成本项目。

What is a noncapital project?

什么是非资本项目？

Most public offices set thresholds for what qualifies as a capital project. For example, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a capital project is defined as a project that creates at least 5,000 gross square feet of building space or exceeds $3 million in total project cost. Projects that fall under each jurisdiction’s thresholds, which can also include life expectancy, may instead be called noncapital projects.

大多数公共机构都设定了合格资本项目的门槛。例如，在弗吉尼亚州，基本建设项目被定义为总建筑面积至少为5000平方英尺或项目总成本超过300万美元的项目。在每个管辖区范围内的项目，也可以包括预期寿命，可以被称为非资本项目。

What makes a capital project successful?

资本项目的成功秘诀

Careful planning and realistic estimates do. Affordable funding needs to be secured, costs need to be managed well, and the project must have a very good chance of becoming profitable. One or two setbacks could turn a capital project into a financial disaster.

详细的计划和现实的估计可以助力其成功。需要获得负担得起的资金，需要很好地管理成本，并且项目必须有很好的盈利机会。一两次挫折就可能把一个资本项目变成一场金融灾难。

The Bottom Line

底线

Capital assets are key revenue generators and the backbone of many companies. Those wishing to expand and become more profitable will need to invest in capital projects and do so in the most cost-effective way possible. Over time, it is smart, well-executed investments that separate the good stocks from the weak ones.

资本资产是主要的收入来源，也是许多公司的支柱。那些希望扩张且变得更加盈利的企业需要投资于资本项目，并尽可能以最具成本效益的方式投资。随着时间的推移，明智的、执行良好的投资会将好股票与差股票区分开来。

（英文来源：Investopedia）