Chinese cash is not enough to plug the funding gap or solve the skills shortage for UK infrastructure projects warns RICS
The government cannot just rely on Chinese investment for UK infrastructure projects.
The warning comes from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), who said the UK faces a skills and funding crisis that could see major programmes grind to halt.
Jeremy Blackburn, RICS' head of policy, said 43 per cent of surveyors turn down around five contracts a year because they don’t have enough skilled workers, and smaller projects were overlooked by investors.
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Broadband and energy infrastructure programmes need as much investment as high-profile plans such as the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor, Blackburn said. He called for a central register of projects for private investors to access, to help plug the funding gap, adding:
The Chancellor is short-sighted if he believes that Chinese cash alone will address our investment needs.
Blackburn also suggested investment in incentives for employers and colleges who employ and train construction workers, such as tax relief and reduced national insurance contributions.