Prime Minister unveils build programme but 'no new money'

PM Boris Johnson has promised a "Rooseveltian" programme of investment in Britain and has pledged to "build, build, build" to bring the country out of recession after the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson has announced a "New Deal" with £5bn of investment to accelerate infrastructure projects, create jobs and revitalise the economy.

However, commenting on Twitter, Construction Products Association economics director Noble Francis said: "The important point to note about the Prime Minister's promises to 'build, build, build' is that it is not new, additional money despite all the public relations and spin behind it."

The £5bn will include:

• £1.5bn this year for hospital maintenance, enabling hospital building, and improving A&E capacity.
• £100m this year for 29 projects in the road network, as well as £10m for development work to unblock the "Manchester rail bottleneck", which will begin this year.
• Over £1bn to fund the first 50 projects of a new, ten-year school rebuilding programme, starting from 2020-21. These projects will be confirmed in the autumn, and construction on the first sites will begin from September 2021.
• £560m and £200m for repairs and upgrades to schools and FE colleges respectively this year.
• £142m for digital upgrades and maintenance to around 100 courts this year, £83m for maintenance of prisons and youth offender facilities, and £60m for temporary prison places.
• £900m for a range of 'shovel ready' local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next, as well as £96m to accelerate investment in town centres and high streets through the Towns Fund this year. This will provide all 101 towns selected for town deals with £500,000-£1m to spend on projects such as improvements to parks, high streets, and transport.

In the autumn, the government will also publish a National Infrastructure Strategy which will set a direction on core economic infrastructure, including energy networks, road and rail, flood defences, and waste.

And it said it would bring forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Article source: Construction Manager

Image source: Andrew Parsons