Chinese Premier’s VisitCconfirms £14B Investment for UK Infrastructure Projects and More

Keeping an eye on the UK infrastructure market is part of Maxim Recruitment’s service to our construction job seekers . We constantly keep an eye on how the market is fairing and where investment comes from to ensure project deliveries are always of interest. We need to be aware of developments to update our portfolio and keep candidates well informed.

What’s the Deal?
So what a difference three days can make. In the middle of June the Chinese premier Li Keqiang paid a visit to the UK to discuss investments and partnership between the two countries. These collaborations and the Chinese investment is mainly in the fields of nuclear power, North Sea oil and the railways, in particular, HS2.

The two governments signed the £14B deal to cooperate on developing the rail infrastructure and a civil nuclear supply chain. The government states that the UK is the favourite European investment market for the Chinese who have invested more in the last 18 months than in the previous 30 years. This has meant security for more than 6,000 jobs in the UK.

Hopefully this new round of investment will safeguard jobs in UK infrastructure and engineering.

Good for UK Infrastructure
Although the HS2 project is the one most mentioned in all reports, the Chinese are interested in working with the UK on all rail projects including developing and upgrading infrastructure; station design; supply of equipment; working together on research and development within the rail sector; the safety and evaluation of rail transport in general; important energy savings and environmental protection within the rail industry and the supply of products to third countries.

Chinese Investment Welcomed
The collaboration has been met favourably and assures the UK infrastructure industry of controversial projects like HS2 of funding for completion. In fact the China Development Bank (CDB) has mentioned HS2 specifically for investment.

Whilst the government has previously indicated that the HS2 would be funded in total by taxpayers, Chinese investment could fund other necessary services. These include the actual running of the rail service, building stations and ancillary services connecting to HS2.

Infrastructure investment is nothing new to the CDB. They are known to be one of the ‘biggest players’ in these type of investments globally.

The UK and Chinese governments have also agreed to work together on climate change launching a £20m programme of research into Low Carbon Innovation.

Senior Roles in UK Infrastructure and Engineering
The investment from China certainly bodes well for securing the job market within UK construction. At Maxim Recruitment we will be developing our portfolio of prestigious roles alongside these investment developments. So if you are looking for a role at this senior level  in construction project management or engineering, why not speak to one of our consultants on 0870 243 0446 to see what the opportunities are?

Adam Cadwaladr
Maxim Recruitment 
UK Office