The Infrastructure Podcast

In this episode  we are talking about electric vehicle charging and the challenge of creating the truly integrated and customer friendly charging network needed to support the growth of EVs My guest  is Asif Ghafoor, chief executive of BE.EV , one of the UK’s leading charging networks and someone who I’d say is pretty out there when it comes to honest appraisals of the state of the EV market and t...

In this episode we return to the critical issues surrounding the financing of infrastructure – and specifically how private investment can be levered in to support the global ambition for green energy transition. It is clear that the global push toward net-zero is fundamentally a challenge of capital mobilisation. While global institutional investors sit on an estimated $100 trillion in assets, le...

This is another episode recorded live at UKREiiF, the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum in Leeds.  My guest is Louisa Finlay, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer at contractor Kier Group . Our conversation builds on a panel session that she hosted to discuss the construction sector’s digital mindset and skills needed to power up infrastructure delivery. Because the re...

This episode was recorded live at UKREiiF, the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum in Leeds.  My guest  is Peter Hogg, Country Director for the UK and Ireland at Arcadis and we are going to spend the next few moment drilling into Peter’s perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the UK infrastructure market as we attempt to invest for the future. And Peter is a great pe...

In this episode my guest is Chris McDonald, MP for Stockton North and Minister for Industry, a brief which, of course, includes construction. Lots to discuss, not least since we have just past the first anniversary of the creation of NISTA – the UK’s National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA).  NISTA was set up to accelerate delivery, unlock private investment, and improv...

In this special episode we take a look at the recently completed Tideway Tunnel project now operating beneath London’s River Thames. Joining me today are two of the minds behind the delivery of this ground breaking project – Roger Bailey, Chief Technical Officer at Tideway and Amey director Tom Kinnear who has been leading the Systems Integrator role on the project for the last few years.  Lots to...

In this episode we focus literally on the bricks and mortar of the construction sector’s battle to boost productivity, embrace new methods of delivery and hit its housing and infrastructure ambitions and targets. My guest today is Andrew Shepherd, Managing Director of Growth & Innovation at Ibstock Plc the UK's largest manufacturer of clay bricks and a leading provider of concrete buildin...

In this episode we delve into the infrastructure and expansion ambitions of Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport.  Last year Heathrow handled a massive 84 million passengers, a figure which has grown steadily over the last 30 years and continues to climb with the airport looking to top the 85 million mark this year.  Investment in infrastructure – 100% private investment - has been the key to managi...

In this episode we are talking about the once-in-a-generation reckoning currently facing the British water industry.  Following the publication of the final report from Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission last summer - and most recently the landmark January 2026 White Paper, "A New Vision for Water," the regulatory landscape across the sector is being completely redrawn.  To...

In this episode we. explore how infrastructure, arguably one of the most traditional and risk-averse industries, can truly embrace and embed digital technology and artificial intelligence as it trains and inspires the next generation into the sector.  No question that construction and infrastructure are the backbone of the UK economy. Yet we continue to face a critical shortage of skills - as the...

This is a special episode recorded live in front of delegates at the recent Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit in New York – the latest in this series of global events supported by software giant Bentley Systems and the UK Government. My guest is Andy Byford, Special Advisor at Amtrak, former London Transport Commissioner, and the man in charge of the massive multi-billion dollar trans...

In this episode we talk about infrastructure resilience: the challenge of designing and building infrastructure in an age of deep uncertainty, where a changing climate, a growing population, and a shrinking public purse have rendered traditional asset management models all but obsolete. To discuss this vital issue, my guest is Sue Percy, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Highways and T...

In this episode we take a close look at the work of the Women in Property network and preview a special breakfast discussion that they have planned on 19th May at UKREiiF, the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum being held in Leeds on 19th to 21st May. Joining me is Sam McCabe, the newly installed national chair of Women in Property who in her day job, is Passive House Lead for the...

This this week's episode we discuss the decarbonisation of global aviation - and specifically a new project that aims to leverage the growth in nuclear technology to accelerate us towards a new world of affordable e-SAF - sustainable aviation fuels Because for all the pressures of driving towards a net zero emissions future, the world's hunger for air travel continues to grow. Which leav...

In this episode we tackle the evolving challenges of managing infrastructure investment risk in a rapidly changing world. As systemic threats like climate change, population growth and social inequality intensify, infrastructure funding models centred on individual assets, on clearly defined risks, and on relatively predictable climate conditions are reaching their limit.  In short, if we are to c...

In this episode we are talking about water sector reform with Mark Thurston, chief executive of Anglian Water , arguably one of the most progressive and innovative water companies in the UK. Not without its problems and critics of course, but Anglian is certainly one water company that has really taken on the challenge to work with its supply chain to boost infrastructure productivity and cut out...

In this episode of the podcast we are explore the way the UK Armed Services has been radically upping its game in terms of the support, promotion and development of professional engineering careers.  To do this, I'm joined today by Squadron Leader David Littlemore from the Royal Air Force, currently executive officer infrastructure at Cyber and Specialist Operations Command.  David is also fe...

In this episode we dive into the infrastructure sector’s journey towards digitisation, decarbonisation and modernisation – a journey which to be honest, seems like one that we have been on for some time. To do this, my guest is Mark Coates, Vice President of Infrastructure Policy Advancement at software giant Bentley Systems and the guiding mind behind TIP, the Transforming Infrastructure Performa...

In this week's episode we take a deep dive into the global infrastructure investment market as I chat to Jon Phillips, chief executive of GIIA, the Global Infrastructure Investors Association. The Association represents the world's foremost institutional investors who together manage over US$2.2 trillion in infrastructure assets across 68 countries. And as we stand in 2026, the landscape...

In this week's episode we return to the New Hospital Programme - still one of the most ambitious public infrastructure programmes the UK has seen in decades.  The last time I was in NHP’s Waterloo office in London was for episode 143 just before Christmas. Then I spoke to Emily King and Doug Baldock about the scale and urgency of the challenge to replace ageing and unsafe hospital infrastruct...

This week's special 151st episode was recorded in front of a live audience at last year’s brilliant Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit hosted by Bentley Systems and the Institution of Civil Engineers in Toronto Canada. In fact, right about the time this episode is published I will be in Melbourne helping the team to deliver the next event in this TIP series – so look out for podca...

This week's podcast celebrates the 150th episode by delving into one of the most urgent and complex issues that continues to challenge the UK construction sector – namely the critical shortage of skilled workers. As we know, government plans to invest public and private funds worth over £725 billion in infrastructure over the next decade or so. That will decarbonise and secure our energy syst...

In this week's episode we are seeking a new year parliamentary progress update to discover how 18 months of government infrastructure ambition is actually being turned into real economic and social growth potential.  To help me with this I am joined once again by Mike Reader, MP for Northampton South, the newly re-elected chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure and Constr...

In this week's podcast we’re talking about the tricky challenge of safely managing and disposing of the UK’s expanding stock of nuclear waste. Creating a Geological Disposal Facility. For more than 70 years, the UK has benefited from nuclear technology - generating low-carbon electricity, advancing medicine, supporting industry, and contributing to national defence.  Alongside those benefits...

In today's podcast we talk about skills and the challenge facing contractors to build a productive workforce fit for the future.  The UK is in the middle of a huge moment for infrastructure. Government has committed to a long-term national infrastructure strategy, has published a £725 billion pipeline, and repeated its commitments to “build for the future”.  All this points towards a sector f...