Kitz Forum
Announcements => News Articles => Topic started by: Bowdon on July 02, 2018, 03:48:40 PM
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https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/07/investors-warn-uk-infrastructure-projects-are-too-politicised.html (https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/07/investors-warn-uk-infrastructure-projects-are-too-politicised.html)
A new report from global law firm DLA Piper has warned that “excessive politicisation” of major UK infrastructure projects (broadband, energy etc.) is becoming a “significant turn-off” for risk averse investors, which comes at a time when the Government are trying to attract private investment to help upgrade the country.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which covers countries that support democracy and a market economy, the UK lags behind its peers and needs to spend an additional 0.4% of GDP between 2016 and 2030 to meet its infrastructure needs. Similarly the World Economic Forum ranks the quality of UK infrastructure as 24th in the world (i.e. at the lower end of the G7 countries).
The new DLA Piper report (UK Infrastructure: Defining the Future), which is based on a survey of 50 big infrastructure investors at CIO and portfolio manager level, therefore describes infrastructure in the United Kingdom as being “distinctly average.” It also found that 84% of major infrastructure investors believe that infrastructure projects have become too politicised.
Report Extract
Tellingly, more than half (55%) believe over-politicisation has a direct effect on the value for money of project proposals, with as many as 7 in 10 having been deterred from investing due to political concerns. Food for thought for policy makers indeed.
A long-standing major frustration for investors on large scale projects is the potential for changing priorities mid-project. To mitigate this risk, 43% would like to see the government take action by identifying and committing to projects which have robust cross-party political support.
Furthermore, a significant number (38%) feel the government should accept a higher degree of completion risk to incentivise greater private sector participation in long term projects, which are naturally fraught with greater risk.
DLA Piper report (https://www.dlapiper.com/~/media/files/insights/publications/2018/07/dla-piper---uk-infrastructure-report---defining-the-future-0718.pdf)