WIREDGOV

That is the headline finding of a report identifying the impact new infrastructure has on the wider economy from leading business analysts the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) on behalf of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).

The report, Securing Our Economy: The Case For Infrastructure, makes the following headline findings:

1. UK GDP could have been five per cent higher, on average, each year between 2000 and 2010 if our infrastructure had matched that of other leading global economies;

2. If we bring UK infrastructure up to the standard of other developed economies, this could contribute £100 billion to the economy annually by 2026 – a 5% boost to GDP;

3. For every 1,000 jobs that are directly created in infrastructure construction, employment as a whole rises by 3,050 jobs;

4.  For each £1 billion increase in infrastructure investment, UK-wide GDP increases by a total of £1.30 billion.

Daniel Solomon, Cebr economist and author of the report, said: “The UK has paid a high price for having infrastructure which has fallen short of our competitors.”

“If UK infrastructure were raised to the quality standard achieved by our international competitors, we estimate that this could add roughly £100 billion to annual GDP by the mid-2020s.”

Drawing from Cebr’s research, CECA makes the following recommendations to government:

1. Government to establish a formal threshold for new infrastructure construction activity, ensuring that it does not fall below 0.8 per cent of GDP, the level at which significant detrimental activity are created for the wider economy;

2. UK Government to target new infrastructure construction activity to be at or above 1 per cent of GDP over the coming five years, to stimulate growth and close the gap in the quality of UK infrastructure compared to international competitors.

Please download the full report from the link below.