Updated UK infrastructure 'pipeline' lists £411 billion of planned projects

The updated national infrastructure pipeline lists 265 investment programmes and 299 projects in the energy, transport, waste, flood defence, communications, water and science and research sectors; over 42% of which by value are either already in construction or part of an active investment programme. The document, which has also been published in an interactive format online, will also feed into the government's planned 'National Infrastructure Plan for Skills'.

Infrastructure law expert Jonathan Hart of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the update was the government's attempt to provide a "report card as to how things are going on the infrastructure front line".

"The national infrastructure pipeline continues the honourable trend, started with the first National Infrastructure Plan, of trying to provide greater transparency as to the state of projects in the pipeline – albeit that features of that pipeline, such as time parameters, remain fuzzy," he said.

"Big points to note are that economic infrastructure is still - unsurprisingly - completely dominated by energy and transport, with a downward turn overall reflecting the hard times in the oil and gas field affecting the overall projects identified as in, or coming down, the pipeline. It is also worth remembering that regulated utilities make up the majority of current and future spending opportunities. Whatever else this 'report card' indicates, it does not suggest that there has been any significant change in direction in the composition of the pre-election pipeline," he said.

The UK government first published its pipeline of planned projects in December 2013, and has updated it on a roughly six-monthly basis since then. The document is intended to give investors and the supply chain more "visibility and certainty" as to the government's plans, while also allowing the government to work more effectively to make sure that the UK's infrastructure needs are met.

The combined value of the planned projects and programmes in the pipeline has fallen slightly from the 550 projects and programmes with a combined capital value of £413bn contained in the December 2014 update. Just under half of the listed projects and programmes by value are monitored as part of the government's cross-sector Top 40 priority projects, and 39% of those projects by value are already in production or form part of an active investment programme.

The government announced its intention to publish an additional 'National Infrastructure Plan for Skills' earlier this month. This document will include analysis of the UK's current infrastructure skills capability and assessment of future need, including areas of potential skills shortfall and capacity "pinch-points". It will also set out planned actions and recommendations to drive up the skill level of the UK workforce to meet future need. The first 'NIP for Skills' will be published in September.