New infrastructure investment reaches almost £3bn says Jane Hutt
30 Jun 2014 04:08 PM
The Welsh
Government’s capital investments and innovative finance schemes, which
have been announced since the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP) was
published in 2012, have now reached almost £3bn and will create around
50,000 jobs during construction, Finance Minister Jane Hutt said
yesterday.
Speaking to the Wales Policy
Forum conference on infrastructure the Minister highlighted the commitment the
Welsh Government has made to supporting the economic recovery and public
services in Wales, through investment in both social and economic
infrastructure
Alongside the publication of the
Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan’s 2014 Annual Report, the Minister
has announced an additional £250million boost for the innovative Housing
Finance Grant to build an extra 2,000 homes in the Social housing sector.
This further builds on the
£1bn of initiatives announced in May and means in total, innovative
funding investments announced since the launch of the Plan will create around
30,000 jobs during the construction phases.
Jane Hutt said:
"Since I published the
Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan in 2012, I have been very clear about the
contribution that investment in our infrastructure can make to support economic
growth and protect and boost jobs.
"Despite the Welsh economy
showing early signs of recovery we are still facing challenges. We have
to maximise the impact of every pound we spend and look to boost our
investments wherever possible.
"Our approach to boosting
investment in Welsh infrastructure has a distinctive and dual focus. We
are investing traditional capital while also creating new innovative finance
schemes to create jobs and deliver public services.
"The WIIP annual report
also contains an updated pipeline of projects that will be delivered over the
coming years. This has helped to provide clarity, transparency and
certainty of investments in Wales.
"Last year, we included for
the first time, both National and Local Government infrastructure investments.
This year, we have gone one step further and included rail and energy data in
line with our ‘Energy Wales Delivery Plan’
commitment.
"This is another milestone
in support of our ambition to develop a single point of information, providing
a full infrastructure investment picture for Wales. The pipeline now details
over 320 schemes across the public and private sectors with an investment value
in excess of £34bn.
"We are determined to do
everything we can to boost growth and jobs in Wales. The actions we have
taken over the last year are a clear demonstration of our commitment to deliver
this goal."
Links
Wales Infrastructure Investment
Plan