Civils contractors today welcomed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s planned £250 billion ‘Project Speed’ to rebuild the UK economy, and said that investment in infrastructure must form the backbone of the recovery.
In a speech earlier today Mr Johnson announced plans to accelerate the delivery of new schools, hospitals, roads, and railways, in an effort to get the UK economy back on its feet after the unprecedented challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Commenting, Director of External Affairs for the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Marie-Claude Hemming said: “Back in April we called for a plan to get our industry back to work, and we need to build on this to secure our national recovery with sustainable investment in infrastructure.
“We welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement that an infrastructure delivery task force, to be chaired by the Chancellor, will be created to speed up project delivery.
“CECA has a group of members ready to support this work. We stand ready to support every effort the Government is making to boost the economy.
“At the same time, we are anticipating major spending announcements to be made in the autumn, and are keen to work with Government to ensure the steps taken are adequate to the mammoth task of re-orientating the economy towards growth.
“There are gains to be made in stamping out waste in project delivery, and ensuring schemes come forward to market more rapidly.
“The Prime Minister won his majority last year by promising an ‘infrastructure revolution.’ In order to return the UK economy to growth, we must turbocharge our sector, so that our members can build our way to recovery.”
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