Subscribe to this blog's feedUtilities must get tired of hearing about skills shortages, rising costs and over-heating of the London economy driving up the price of civil engineering. So next time a contractor starts bleating about having too much work and not enough labour why not wave this week's issue of Contract Journal at them?
Its lead story brings news that the Department for Transport is having a root and branch review of its roadbuilding programme, leading to widespread fears it will be slashed by as much as 40 per cent.
Every clould has a silver lining, as they say, and the great man expects this sudden decline in workloads will soon feed through into reduced costs for the utility sector, which continues to invest heavily in water and energy infrastructure.
If only utilities could lick the prioblem of start-start workloads at the beginning and end of each regulatory period and the contractors would indeed learn to love them.
