CECA: Govt Needs To Invest More In Highway Engineering Projects

There needs to be more money spent on the construction, maintenance and building repairs for motorways and local roads, according to the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).

It has released its quarterly Workload Trends Report, which revealed the number of projects undertaken on roads fell in the last three months compared with the same period in 2015. Workloads for motorways and trunk roads dropped by 29 per cent, while they declined by 16 per cent for local roads.

The CECA stated the reduction in building work on the roads sector will affect the wider economy, as it is “integral” to the country’s finances.

CECA head of external affairs Marie-Claude Hemming commented: “CECA calls on government to take steps to ensure planned investment in the roads sector is unlocked, so that our members can deliver a roads network capable of sustaining projected levels of demand.”

Without greater investment and an increase of construction or maintenance work, the country’s economy will be hindered, the organisation asserted.

CECA recently commented on findings released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) regarding the output in the construction industry for the fourth quarter of 2015.

The ONS showed there was a 0.4 per cent drop in the last three months of the year for construction output and a 3.9 per cent fall in new infrastructure projects.

At the time, CECA chief executive Alasdair Reisner said this is a sign the British infrastructure industry has not been able to reach its full potential due to a lack of sufficient investment.