UK faces £615bn shortfall in infrastructure spending

Written by Adam Cadle

07/11/2023

The UK will need around £1.3trn to meet its infrastructure goals, but only £700bn in funding is currently secured from a mixture of public and private sources, leaving a £615bn shortfall by 2030, a report by the ABI has revealed.

The ABI said the areas most in need of additional investment include onshore and offshore wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, rail electrification, new homes and retrofitting insulation to existing housing stock.

Housing is where the UK faces “the biggest challenge”, it added.

To solve these issues, the ABI has estimated that around £350bn of the shortfall needs to come from private sources, but at the current rate of investment, the extra funds needed could increase to around £1.5trn.

Clare Bousfield, deputy president of the ABI, said: “Our research shows there is a mammoth infrastructure investment challenge facing the UK. The ongoing Solvency UK reforms are crucial in helping us to channel around £100bn into green and good infrastructure and narrow this investment gap.

“We have established the Investment Delivery Forum to ensure that, once unlocked, these funds can be deployed swiftly. We are working hard to lay this groundwork, but we want to hear from project owners as part of this process, as well as telling the infrastructure community what makes projects investable for the insurance and long-term savings industry.”

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