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The construction industry will not be able to deliver the government鈥檚 ambitions on infrastructure without a 鈥渟tep change鈥� improvement in productivity, the government鈥檚 chief infrastructure advisor has warned.

Nick Smallwood said infrastructure in the UK had 鈥渓anguished鈥� compared to other sectors and that major projects 鈥渓ook the same today as they did 40 years ago鈥�.

Productivity would need to improve by as much as 30% to 40% as a 鈥減rerequisite鈥� to building the government鈥檚 National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS), he added.

The strategy, which was published in November last year, is the government鈥檚 long-term plan to transform infrastructure across the UK to 鈥榣evel-up鈥� poorer parts of the country.

It includes a pledge to spend 拢600bn over the next few years on upgrading railways and roads, building nearly one million homes, installing 5G, setting up a new national infrastructure bank and investments in green technology to make progress towards net zero.

Smallwood, who is the chief executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, said the surety in the pipeline of future projects provided a 鈥渉uge opportunity鈥� for the industry to 鈥渕odernise and really join the 21st century鈥� by adopting modern methods of construction鈥�.

But he told MPs on the transport select committee last week contractors had to step up and make substantial strides in getting productivity up: 鈥淚鈥檓 not talking about marginal percentages but 30%, 40% improvement[s]. And that鈥檚 going to be a prerequisite to deliver the NIS.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to see that step change in productivity and taking hours out of the construction of our projects鈥�.

Before becoming a government advisor, Smallwood worked for Royal Dutch Shell for more than three decades and was the oil giant鈥檚 chief project engineer.

He said: 鈥淚 make observations having come from the oil and gas world that we really have construction projects in infrastructure that look the same today as they did 40 years ago.鈥�

But he warned that a shortfall in skills needed to deliver the programme could hit the sector by the middle of this decade 鈥渘ot only to key craft skills but also key engineering skills and leadership skills, project management鈥�.

The strategy also includes a shake-up of the Treasury鈥檚 green book, which assesses value for money on capital projects, by including correcting regional imbalances as an appraisal criteria.

In December, the government outlined plans to reform and modernise the industry in the long-awaited Construction Playbook.

The 78-page document contained initiatives designed to make major projects quicker, greener and more efficient including grouping projects into portfolios with longer-term contracts, standardised design and greater use of digital technologies such as BIM.