Chinese companies will be looking for more than a financial return on their vast investment in UK infrastructure. But should UK construction see this as a threat or an opportunity?
China is set to plough more than £100bn of investment into UK infrastructure over the next 10 years. This level of investment will not just help to bring our ageing and over-used infrastructure up to scratch but is expected to be transformative for the sector in the coming years.
Consistent under-investment by successive governments has landed the country with a massive infrastructure shortfall, so much so that the World Economic Forum ranks the UK only 27th in the world for the overall quality of its infrastructure. This puts us behind Barbados, Oman and Malaysia among others. For a country with the world’s sixth largest economy, that’s not good news.
Investment in infrastructure is an essential pillar of economic growth and prosperity. Without economic arteries, such as modern and efficient roads, railways and airports, as well as the energy needed to power the economy, productivity will deteriorate and we will be less able to compete effectively for access to the world’s fast-growing emerging market economies.
Unfortunately,