Member Article

Government launches infrastructure scheme

The Government has launched a scheme to underwrite £40bn worth of stalled infrastructure projects in its latest bid to jump start the economy.

The Treasury said the Infrastructure UK guarantees scheme would provide funding for projects it feels are ‘nationally significant’ but have experienced difficulty in finding the necessary investment.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said: “The measures we’re announcing today will help work get started on many important infrastructure projects and help our major exporters, providing lasting benefits for thousands of people and a significant boost to the economy.

The scheme will fund projects from across a range of sectors, and those seeking the money will have to prove the work will have a positive effect on the economy and provide value for taxpayers as well as having the work starting within the next twelve months.

Applications to the scheme can be made from today, with the first guarantees expected to be made in the Autumn.

Alongside the main scheme, the Treasury is also offering £6bn of funding for Public Private Partnerships (PPP) infrastructure schemes. PPP projects normally raise all of their project debt from the private sector but due to economic conditions the the Government has stepped in providing a temporary lending programme.

£5bn has also been put aside to fund an export refinancing facility that will be available later this year as part of the scheme to support British exporters by ensuring that overseas buyers have the long-term funding they need.

Corin Taylor, Senior Economic Adviser at the Institute of Directors, said: “This is a positive way of encouraging more private investment in the key projects that are fundamental to our economic future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matthew Bowen .