Tories pledge to drop PFI funding model
December 2nd 2009 The Conservatives will drop Labour’s private finance initiative (PFI) and replace it with another funding model for major projects such as road building and widening.
George Osborne, the shadow chancellor laid out his plans this month but did not provide detail on what the Tories would use instead. PFI is a key mechanism for funding large road development projects, for example, the £6.2bn M25 widening works which was agreed this year. Mr Osborne told the Observer newspaper that PFI lacks transparency and fails to genuinely shift risk on to the private sector.
Geoff Dossetter, chairman, OG Transport Media said: "Osborne did not indicate what the Tories would replace PFI with if they get into Government but what is clear is that we need innovative means of generating investment in road building.”
Aside from schemes such as the M25 widening plan, Dossetter said that he didn’t see PFI as a great success in terms of helping to push through large road projects.
He added: "Ten years ago the Highways Agency developed plans for the privatisation of the UK’s trunk road network which sounded very challenging but is the kind of big thinking that is required. “The bigger problem than funding vehicles, however, is getting Governments to see the great importance of road building," he said.
PFI schemes have often caused controversy with critics arguing they dump excessive repayments on the taxpayer. Labour has signed more than 640 PFI contracts in 12 years in power, leaving the taxpayer committed to a repayment stream totalling £206bn with the peak bills due in 2017-18. More articles from Handling & Storage Solutions: | 
