According to the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 HM Government plans to provide £5 billion by 2014-15 while it is hoping to planning to attract £20 billion from private investors. The Treasury hopes two-thirds of the of the funding will come from the National Association of Pension Funds and the Pension Protection Fund. It is also separately looking for more investment in infrastructure from insurance companies and from China.
The National Infrastructure Plan sets out a new strategy for meeting the infrastructure needs of the UK economy. It is based on a comprehensive cross-sectoral analysis of the UK’s infrastructure networks and identifies over 500 priority infrastructure projects.
Funding
The Government will facilitate the private investment that will finance the majority of the UK’s infrastructure. This includes bringing in new investors into UK infrastructure; introducing new sources of revenue such as tolling; allowing local authorities more flexibility in the way they use local receipts to fund major infrastructure in specific circumstances; and being willing to consider guarantees against specific risks that the market cannot bear.
Cross-sectoral analysis
The cross sectoral analysis shows the UK’s infrastructure performance is beginning to improve in some areas, such as broadband speeds and coverage, and road safety, but that the age of some networks and the dense pattern of urban development in the UK combine to pose challenges. Many power stations are ageing, road congestion is a growing concern, train punctuality in the UK is worse than on the continent and there is a growing airport capacity challenge in the South East of England.
Based on this analysis, the Government has identified a set of goals for improving infrastructure performance,
- improving the performance and environmental impacts of the UK’s transport networks including maintaining the UK as an international aviation hub
- achieving a secure, diverse and reliable energy supply for the UK while reducing the carbon intensity of electricity generation
- increasing broadband speed and coverage, and ensuring adequate spectrum availability for the wireless communications industry
- maintaining the water and sewerage system while reducing its environmental impacts
- mitigating the impacts of flooding and coastal erosion
- moving towards a zero-waste economy through recycling and other measures
Priority projects
Improvements to the national road network,
- two new managed motorway schemes to allow use of the hard shoulder at congested times on the M3 and M6
- improvements to M1/M6 Junction 19, the A14 Kettering Bypass, widening of the A453 and the A45/46 Tollbar End improvement scheme
- smaller projects which will deliver significant improvements on the road network
Improvments in railway infrastructure and commuter links, including
- electrification of the Transpennine railway route from Manchester to Leeds and a rail link between Oxford and Bedford
- enhancement and renewal works to improve stations and rail infrastructure
- improvements to the quality of travel for rail users, including smart ticketing, new carriages, and limiting fare increases
The Government is committing to extra funding for more local transport projects including new low carbon emission buses.
The Government is announcing funding to create up to ten ‘super-connected cities’ across the UK, with 80-100 megabits per second broadband and city-wide high speed mobile connectivity.
There will be a particular focus on small and medium sized businesses and strategic employment zones to support economic growth. Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London will receive support from this fund and a UK-wide competition will identify up to six additional cities to receive funding.
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