Governance, funding and finance for major infrastructure projects: bridging the gaps

The UK is embarking on a significant institutional reform to put long-term infrastructure planning on a firmer basis. The creation of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), building on experience in Australia and elsewhere, should help promote a better evidence-based discussion on the UK’s infrastructure needs and political choices, and to put infrastructure design and delivery on a surer footing. Interactions with the system of economic regulation need to be worked through, but the NIC will help governments to give a clearer statement of long-term policy within which regulators can operate and ensure projects are delivered efficiently. Funding and financing challenges however have yet to be fully addressed across the infrastructure planning and delivery chain – not just in the UK but globally. A number of initiatives are beginning to tackle this policy gap, and recent UK experience suggests ways in which projects can be brought to market in ways which secure private investment and secure the interests of consumers and taxpayers. There is a major opportunity to deliver better infrastructure efficiently if we can get this right.