With the government having spent billions on the coronavirus response, the pressure on megaprojects to deliver value has never been greater.
Megan Kelly examines the influence of schemes such as HS2 and Crossrail, and asks how best to budget in a post-pandemic world
“The poor old contractors get killed over expenditure,” complains Ferrovial Construction UK managing director Karl Goose, before pointing out one of the many unwinnable situations that those building megaprojects find themselves in.
“The press hammers projects if they go over budget and [also] if they don’t buy local, even if that particular local commodity is more expensive,” he adds, outlining the conundrum faced by project contractors.