An attractive and buoyant UK infrastructure market
The annual expenditure for the UK infrastructure sector is close to £27 billion with the majority allocated to the transport sector with Network Rail, High Speed 2, and Highways England receiving the largest funding for the next five years. The devolved cities and Transport for London are also high up on the spending agenda.
The government is spending money on infrastructure to help with long-term targets of levelling up the Union to ensure no part of it is left behind, including shifting some of the power and job opportunities from London out to the regions. Net zero is another driver, where tough targets will challenge the industry for the next few decades. The National Infrastructure Commission has set out, in the recently published National Infrastructure Strategy, a roadmap to achieving government ambitions.
Funding in transport sectors
In the transport sectors, three quarters of funding come from central government with local governments funding projects in their own areas. There is also a small amount of funding from the private sector, including in shared transport projects. The energy sector, on the other hand, is almost exclusively funded by the private sector, with nuclear being the only area fully funded by the government. Utilities, again, is funded almost exclusively by the private sector.
How to compete in the infrastructure sector
The competition to secure infrastructure contracts is fierce with multiple companies competing for contracts in all sectors. On the bigger schemes including Crossrail and High Speed 2, no single company has had all the in-house skills required to deliver the works and we have seen many joint ventures being formed bringing together specialist skills and equipment.
Find out more about the UK infrastructure market in our report and benefit from market insights.
