Government publishes ambitious infrastructure plans

The National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline,  which sets out projects for the next 10 years, has published details of over £460 billion of planned infrastructure investment across the public and private sectors, of which over £240 billion will occur in the next four years. This amounts to a projected total of public and private investment in infrastructure of around £600 billion. 

According to the report, this should give industry, and all parts of the supply chain, the confidence they need to support government and businesses with the delivery of future projects.

Since 2010 over 4,500 infrastructure projects across the UK have been completed successfully. These range from major, nationally significant projects such as Birmingham New Street Station and extending access to superfast broadband across the UK, to smaller local schemes that have made a huge impact on the communities they serve, such as the Nottingham Trent left bank flood alleviation scheme.

Over 1100 transport projects have been completed since 2010, with 13 priority rail projects completed or under construction, and 29 priority road projects completed or under construction.  There is over £135 billion of transport investment in the pipeline and over 240 planned transport projects and programmes.

Modern transport infrastructure is essential to ensuring that the UK remains a competitive and strong economy. As well as improving capacity and relieving congestion, good transport infrastructure unlocks opportunities for regeneration and new housing development. The Government is committed to a 50% increase in transport investment from 2015 to 2020, enabling the largest rail modernisation since the Victorian times and the biggest road investment programme since the 1970s.

Over 1900 energy projects have been completed since 2010.  Construction of the first new nuclear project in a generation is now underway at Hinkley Point C, and since 2010, over 30GW of new capacity has been added to the electricity grid, around 75% from renewable sources. Over 100 renewable projects are currently under construction across the UK, which will provide 5.6GW of new capacity and over £57 billion of energy investment is in the pipeline between 2017/18 and 2020/21. This summer, more than half of the UK’s electricity came from low carbon sources, making 2017 the “greenest” summer ever recorded by the National Grid, helping the government to meet its long-term climate change commitments.

Over 370 social infrastructure projects have been completed since 2010, and more than 735,000 additional pupil places have been created, with over 1.1 million homes delivered.

Andrew Jones MP, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “We are backing Britain with a record amount of infrastructure investment as we build an economy fit for the future. That’s why we’re working with the industry to skill up and scale up for the challenges ahead. Investing in infrastructure boosts productivity for the economy as a whole. The scale of the investment we are talking about here will deliver a step change for our country.”

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “We’re undertaking the most ambitious improvements in our transport network this country has seen for decades. But we must also drive forward plans to ensure these infrastructure projects are completed on time and on budget.

“World-leading projects such as Crossrail, the Ordsall Chord and the huge investment programme in our major roads show that Britain can deliver on time and on budget, boosting jobs and growth and creating new opportunities across the nation. But we want to do better. This strategy shows the way and sets out our standards for how we will do more and better in future.”

Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) chief executive, Nelson Ogunshakin, said: “In the run-up to the Budget we asked the government to support our sector by making a long-term commitment to infrastructure. We are delighted that they have responded to our call. The ten-year investment pipeline will help bring certainty to the industry and encourage our members to invest in their own skills and capabilities in order to meet this demand.

“We’re pleased to see a focus on productivity and encouraging the adoption of new digital and manufacturing technologies. As a sector we look forward to working closely with the IPA which will co-ordinate infrastructure delivery across disparate Whitehall departments. However, we need to reiterate our message to government that we cannot allow the final 15 months of the Brexit negotiations to derail delivery of this Investment pipeline. We need the current focus on infrastructure to remain, even if Brexit looms ever larger over Westminster.”

Please go here for the full report.

Source: Infastructure  Intelligence