UK infrastructure is lagging behind on global value rankings
The UK is falling behind in global rankings on its infrastructure, according to research published today.
The value of Britain’s built environment – its buildings and infrastructure – is currently £3.1 trillion, the research from Arcadis, a consultancy, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research said. The UK ranks 13th against a host of other economic powerhouses, but has slipped two places since 2013 and lags behind every other G7 country except for Canada.
“As a mature economy, the UK relies too heavily on its existing infrastructure. This poses different challenges to those faced in emerging markets, where the emphasis is on building from scratch. New projects in the UK have to integrate with the infrastructure that is already in place and help deliver better value from it. This, in part, explains the UK’s placing on this year’s index,” the report said.
In order to boost the country’s infrastructure investment, chancellor George Osborne recently appointed Labour peer Lord Andrew Adonis to head up an independent National Infrastructure Commission which will work out what the country needs to build and point out when politicians fail to deliver.