£36bn to be spent on infrastructure
Prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne today jointly kicked off a year of major infrastructure investment, with £36bn of spending planned across 200 projects.
Many of the projects for the financial year 2014-15 are key transport schemes, ranging across road, rail, local transport and airport infrastructure as well as flood defence schemes.
Key projects include the Mersey Gateway Bridge, the A1 Barton to Leeming motorway upgrade, which will reduce local journey times by 20% officials claim, and improvements to the M6, M3, M25 and M1, with a number of major road projects to be completed by the end of the year.
Mr Cameron said: ‘Ensuring Britain has first class infrastructure is a crucial part of our long-term economic plan: supporting business, creating jobs and providing a better future for hardworking people.
Mr Osborne added: ‘This year over 200 new projects worth an estimated £36bn are due to start, creating thousands of jobs, securing future growth and delivering the world class infrastructure Britain deserves.’
Financial backing for the schemes includes £5bn public investment, £21bn private investment and £10bn in joint public and private investment.
Number 10 officials claim the investment will support around 150,000 jobs in construction, with many more created after the projects are completed.
The news comes after the 2013 Spending Review, which saw the Treasury commit to invest in over £100bn of capital in specific projects in the next parliament, including providing long-term funding settlements in key infrastructure sectors. This includes £5.8bn for local roads.