Whitehall promises huge amounts for transport, justice and education

Construction firms have been promised 拢650bn of infrastructure schemes in the next decade under plans announced by the government this morning.

In its , the government has set out how 拢650bn of private and public investment will be spent over the next 10 years with Whitehall saying it expects up to 拢31bn to be spent on economic and social infrastructure projects in the 2021/22 financial year.

According to the figures the total value of procurements across economic and social infrastructure planned for 2021/22 ranges between 拢21bn and 拢31bn, while the total value of the pipeline up to 2024/25 is more than 拢200bn.

Men working on a railway project in the UK

Source: Shutterstock

Transport schemes are set to be in line for huge amounts of funding over the coming decade, the government said

The sector set to start the procurement of the highest value of work this year is transport, which has 132 procurements across 19 projects. These deals will be worth at least 拢14.8bn and up to 拢23.7bn.

This is followed by justice with up to 拢2.8bn of work to be put up for grabs, comprising 23 procurements across 10 projects.

The education sector rounded out the top three spending client sectors for 2021/22, with 165 projects, worth around 拢2.5bn, due to be given the green light.

Of the work to be procured in 2021/22, construction work, including building, design and build and civil engineering, makes up over two thirds of the work opportunities.

Of the remaining estimated contract value, 拢800m to 拢1.1bn is architectural, engineering and design services, 拢2.9bn to 拢5bn is repair and maintenance services.

The government has also published its 鈥� a plan on how to maximise spend on the built environment and increase social value from infrastructure projects.

Commenting on these publications Keith Waller, Construction Innovation Hub Programme director, said: 鈥淭he TIP Roadmap puts societal outcomes, the use of data and digital technology and innovation and improved delivery models at the heart of government infrastructure investment and delivery, which closely aligns with the priorities and focus of the Construction Innovation Hub to drive sector innovation and deliver greater benefits for citizens.

鈥淲e will work with government departments to embed platform construction systems, information management and the Value Toolkit into the pipeline to help to make infrastructure in the UK the best in the world.鈥�

Chief executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association Alasdair Reisner said the publications would boost industry confidence and enable companies to structure their workforce accordingly.

He added: 鈥淭he IPA has projected that 425,000 jobs will be supported through this investment annually, which will provide real opportunities to many new entrants to our sector.

鈥淭oday鈥檚 publications put meat on the bones of the government鈥檚 ambitions for the UK economy, providing much-needed detail on how as an industry we are going to deliver schemes that put societal outcomes, innovation, and cutting-edge technology at the forefront of project delivery.鈥�

He said the government鈥檚 plans to transform infrastructure delivery on how construction will need to change to improve infrastructure delivery and performance was to be especially welcomed.

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