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ACE has staged the latest of its investment roundtables, bringing together members of ACE and experts from across the infrastructure financing remit including Giles Wilkes, special advisor to Business Secretary Vince Cable.
The meeting looked at the government’s desire to facilitate private investment in infrastructure and touched on a series of issues, including the government’s own challenges in pushing through projects and what supply limits may be faced.
Several key areas of uncertainty were discussed:
• On complications with planning, financing and regulatory change, Government efforts to strengthen infrastructure have seen some aspects of these addressed, though a great deal more continues to be done.
• The role of the public sector in leading the agenda was discussed and how this works in other countries where the private sector takes less of a lead.
• The UK has one of the most complex and advanced financial sectors in the world, suggesting that government was not well placed to attempt to educate that sector on complex issues.
• There was also discussion about how pension funds could play a role, given issues with the lack of liquidity that is inherent in investments of this nature, and with the construction risk for a long term project.
• The confidence with which government promotes the case for big projects was also raised. Many estimates on the wider economic return for major projects were calculated on a conservative basis, which the table agreed could be better emphasised to the public.
This was the first of a series of roundtables that ACE will hold this year as it works at the heart of the debate on infrastructure investment with industry and political stakeholders to ensure continued investment into projects and work for members and the sector.
Attendees
Darryl Murphy, KPMG
Julian Ware, TfL
Simon Astley, Balfour Beatty
Keith Howells, Mott MacDonald
Stephen Wells, URS
Nelson Ogunshakin, ACE
John Gibbs, PwC
Philip Rycroft, Hutchinson Whampoa (Europe) Ltd
Richard Wade, National Audit Office
Peter Campbell, British Chambers of Commerce
Mike Bryan, Gingco Tree Investment Ltd
Jerome Munro-Lafon, URS
Giles Wilkes, BIS
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