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National Infrastructure Assessment

GIIA, the membership body for the leading private investors in infrastructure, welcomes the release of the UK’s first ever National Infrastructure Assessment which sets out the country’s  future infrastructure needs across a range of sectors, over the next thirty years.

Significantly, the National Infrastructure Commission report draws much needed attention to the important role of private capital in delivering the UK’s future infrastructure pipeline.  It highlights that nearly half of the planned pipeline of infrastructure projects to 2020/21 will be funded privately and that the Commission’s future recommendations ‘will require a combination of public and private financing mechanisms and these arrangements should be as efficient and cost effective as possible’.

In its analysis, the NIC states that ‘the introduction of private financing into public delivery …. Has led to quicker delivery of projects, enabling society to access better infrastructure earlier, and contributed to better public sector commercial capability’ and the ‘transfer of risk to the private partner incentivises efficiency in delivery over the project lifecycle’.

A key recommendation is for the creation of an independent evidence base that will inform future policy makers: ‘the Commission aims to develop a consistent base of costs and benefits of financing models through more detailed analysis. This independent source of evidence should lead to more strategic use of private financing and traditional procurement, and improve the design of existing models to build more collaborative long term approaches’.

Andy Rose, CEO of GIIA, said: “The NIC’s excellent report should serve as a timely reminder of the importance of creating a positive and transparent environment that actively encourages the types of private investment in infrastructure that has delivered significant benefits to UK consumers. Only through close collaboration between Government and private investors can the UK ensure the delivery of innovative and sustainable infrastructure that is required by future generations. We welcome the proposal to create an independent evidence base as a much needed step to inform future policy in infrastructure delivery.”

View the report at https://www.nic.org.uk/assessment/national-infrastructure-assessment/