Posts tagged ‘Infrastructure’
Infrastructure: Beyond PFI – Mark Hellowell
Monday, December 6th, 2010Edinburgh University’s Mark Hellowell considers what the future holds for the Private Finance Initiative after the financial crisis and spending review. What is driving the change away from PFI? There are a number of factors, but perhaps the primary one in the Northern Ireland context is that, due to the intervention of the Audit Office, there are no longer accounting advantages to using private finance. In other words, PFI fails to deliver additional capital resources. There are also concerns about the sustainability at UK level of the accounting advantages (i.e. the fact that PFI...[full story]
Infrastructure: Assessing the economic impact – Edgar Morganroth
Monday, December 6th, 2010Strategic Investment Board advisor Edgar Morganroth considers how to measure returns from infrastructure investment. Prioritisation is key in tight fiscal times. “The lawnmower approach to cutting our capital budgets might be expedient but it’s certainly not a good solution,” Edgar Morganroth told agendaNi’s seminar on infrastructure investment. “It’s very highly flawed. We should try and use our scarce resources in those areas where we get the best return.” Prioritisation was an important running theme throughout his address, given the expected 37-40 per cent cut in capital...[full story]
Infrastructure: Green New Deal
Monday, December 6th, 2010Plans to revive Northern Ireland’s economy and improve energy efficiency have been published by a lobby group. agendaNi takes a look at the proposals which promise to slash fuel bills and carbon emmissions. A number of groups have come together to launch the Northern Ireland Green New Deal, which aims to tackle the recession, energy security and climate change. The Housing Fund Business Plan, which was published in November, provides details of a £253 million investment scheme which would improve the energy efficiency of 100,000 homes over a three- year period. However, government...[full story]
Infrastructure: Update
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010Two years into ISNI2, Northern Ireland’s residents are seeing the first fruits of its most extensive infrastructure programme, whether on the drive along the Westlink, waiting for treatment in the Downe Hospital or being taught in the redeveloped Grosvenor Grammar School, in east Belfast. While most projects in the three key areas we have selected have been completed or are on target, delays have also crept up e.g. at the Gransha mental health centre outside Derry or the Ballee Road East dual carriageway outside Ballymena. Fiscally, the Executive’s spending plans for 2010-2011 do...[full story]
