Fulton Hogan Chief Operating Officer NZ Infrastructure, Robert Jones shares his insights on the UK’s approach to infrastructure funding and building in Contractor NZ magazine.

DURING A WHISTLE-STOP TOUR of the UK in November I was struck by the UK’s highly evolved model for developing new infrastructure, and believe there are some aspects of the overall approach we would do well to adopt in our own backyard here.

Back in November it was my privilege to represent Fulton Hogan as part of a delegation organised by the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development (NZCID) and UK Trade & Investment. Over the four days we were hosted in London and Manchester where we were brought up to speed on the state of play of the UK’s infrastructure.

Originally from the UK myself, it was great to head back over there with a fresh set of eyes after leaving the UK over 24 years ago and see for myself how our approaches to major nation and city building projects compare.

It was very apparent to me that authorities in the UK are increasingly approaching infrastructure with a ‘build it and they will come’ mentality. In New Zealand we often wait for the perfect economic conditions before acting, whereas the UK way is to view infrastructure as a vital catalyst for unlocking economic growth. Infrastructure is pegged as a growth-enabler for the economy, not vice versa.

The Crossrail project being rolled out in London is a perfect example of this go-getting approach – 118 kilometres of east-to-west rail is being constructed in what is currently Europe’s biggest construction project.

The total available funding is £14 billion for the job, which is a hefty purse, but expected economic benefits for Greater London are in the vicinity of £40 billion. Work began in 2009 and the full line will be open in 2019. Two hundred million people are forecast to use the new line annually, with fringe areas such as Heathrow and Docklands being unlocked. Total network capacity will rise by 10 percent. Auckland’s Central Rail Loop is technically complex and political, but Crossrail is certainly eye-opening for its scale.

Projects like Crossrail are fantastic in principle, but who’s footing the bill? The answer is that the burden is shared. I was struck time and again during my trip by the funding model employed to pull off projects of enormous scale like Crossrail. In New Zealand, there remains a significant deal of restraint and hesitation when the idea of private investment is tabled. The opposite is true in the UK, with the attraction of private investment being factored into projects at an early stage. Securing private investment is a key objective for many projects – not a reluctant second best. Crossrail is being made possible through partnerships between the public and private sectors, with £4.1 billion sourced from private enterprise.

The UK also reaches out to foreign investors to deliver infrastructure upgrades. High Speed 2, a planned high speed rail development, will link the northern cities of Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds with Birmingham and London. Estimates have tentatively billed the project at £43 billion and the UK government is procuring foreign investment in order to get it over the line.

In order to deliver despite the large price tag, the UK government has warmly received interest from China. Talks are still in progress and the project, set to begin in 2017, is headed to the start-line with the support of a seemingly strongly aligned set of local and central government agencies, and a passionate political champion in the Minister of State for Transport (Baroness Kramer), who plays the role of a sponsor, enabler and ‘Chief Unblocker’.

With Fulton Hogan’s historical strengths in roading, I was naturally interested in the framework of the roading industry in the UK. Interestingly, the Highways Agency – their equivalent of our NZTA – last year embarked on a journey to be a publicly-owned corporation, with the rationale that it will make investment easier.

There have been signs of late here of New Zealand warming to the idea of a UK funding model. The 2011 National Infrastructure Plan from the New Zealand Treasury requires the Government to consider procurement within a PPP model for all capital projects greater than $25 million. Transmission Gully is a litmus test for this strategy and, as New Zealand’s first state highway to be built using the PPP model, it is more in-line with the UK’s modus operandi.

Throughout my trip I was reminded of the enormous opportunity – and responsibility – we have in the country’s infrastructure sector to deliver some incredible projects for Kiwis. Auckland’s thrusting growth necessitates large-scale and creative infrastructure solutions. Easing the ever-increasing flows of people and freight will require the very best in roading design, technology and construction, while getting the beautiful city of Christchurch back on its feet demands sensitive yet future-proofed design and execution. Put simply, we have got our work cut out for us.

In fact, the unprecedented volume of forward work in New Zealand means we are facing a deficit of skills and talent.

We need more engineers, project managers and estimators and machine operators to get the job done. Fulton Hogan has been pushing the envelope in this area, with recruitment drives spanning as far as Western Australia and the UK. As a sector we need the best and the brightest to make our mark in this once-in-a-generation burst of nation building which will define the way we live as Kiwis for 75-100 years to come. Bring on 2015!

In New Zealand we often wait for the perfect economic conditions before acting, whereas the UK way is to view infrastructure as a vital catalyst for unlocking economic growth. Infrastructure is pegged as a growth-enabler for the economy, not vice versa.