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. To receive funding, capital projects are obligated to prove how the investment provides an improvement (additional capacity), new useful feature, or benefit (reduced costs).

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.

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.