CONTENTS 13.05.10
NewCivilEngineer
nec:
www.nce.CO.UK New CivilEngineerlstFloor,GreaterLondonHouse HampsteadRoad,LondonNWl 7EJ EDITORIALENQUIRIES Tel: (020) 77284544 (fax4666) Email: [email protected] EDITOR1Antony Oliver (020) 77284541 antony.oliver DEPUTYEDITOR1JackieWhitelaw (020) 77284542 jackie.whitelaw MANAGINGEDITOR1MarkHansford (020) 77284543 mark.hansford NEWSEDITOR1AlexandraWynne (020) 77284540 alexandra.wynne
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le 26
www.nce.co.uk1 13.05.10 NEW CIVILENGINEER 3
05
NEWS
Wembley roof problems Experts claim new roof is to blame for continued pitch problems.
06
NEWS
Tube Lines sellsup PPP agreement with London Underground finally cornes to an end in buy-out.
22
MAJORPROJEa5
Saline Solution
NCE takes a look at Australia's newest attempt to offset their urgent water needs.
Alsoin thisissue
06 News
Boris brands failed PPP "Byzantine"
08 News
Industry fears for spending post -election
10 News
Luton Busway deal is full steam ahead
14 Letters
Transport, water, low carbon
18 Water Special
What will new regulations mean for the sector?
26 ICENews
Celebratingthe ForthRoad Bridge
Comment
AntonyOliver
liA
raftof publicspending austerity is just around the corner,and perhaps sooner than we think"
Publicspending efficiency needsprivatesedorsupport
Amongst all the political uncertainty at the moment, one thing is pretty much guaran- teed - a raft of public spending austerity is just around the corner.
Perhaps sooner than we think. Perhaps in areas that were previously thought safe. The purchase of London Underground upgrade contractor Tube Lines by Transport for London (Tf1) and cancellation of the contro- versial public private partnership (PPP) is a worrying public spending milestone.
As the end of a major Gordon Brown- inspired investment vehicle it could also be an ominous taste of what is to corne. It could be a pointer towards future public sector policywhich makes this relatively small development on London's Tube very impor- tant to everyone living outside the capital.
Because while there is absolutely no doubt that the decision to par f310M to wrestle contraI away from the private sector was hugely politically motiva ted, it does raise
some big questions about how public clients manage future infrastructure investments.
Not least because if a client like Tf1 is prepared to invest hundreds of millions of pounds to buy themselves out oflong term commitments with the private sector rather than investing in the relationship, we really could aIl be in trouble. It is clear that under Labour the public sector has been allowed to gel too big and needs to be slimmed. But simply removing "expensive" private sector expertise is flot the long term solution. Tf1 maintains that handing f310M to Tube Lines shareholders was clone to drive better value into the Tube.
It also maintains that, having taken Metronet, the other original PPP contractor, back in-house IWOyears ago, London Under- ground has the skills to manage the Tube Lines contract.
WeIl the jury's still very much out on that one and besicles, the Tube Lines con tract is
a much more complex affair. Whether or flOt the public sector can retain the necessary management skills is yet to be seen. Funda- mentally, as the PPP Arbiter pointed out last week, Tf1 has a massive hole in ils budget.
To star within ils spending constraints it has ta de-scope ils upgrades, maintenance and renewals across the network. Spending f310M tearing up a contract t!tat it failed to manage properly is surely throwing good (public) money after bad and will hardly endear a future govhnment. .,~"
NCE has talked a lot abbut "delivering more for less" and ensuring th~t every single
'. ~ pound of public cash'is invested eff'ectively.
At the heart of this will be the public sector working closeiy and constructively with ils private sector partners. Unless clients embrace meaningful relationships with the private sector we risk seeing this mantra translated into simply "delivering less".
