Infrastructure projects worth £33 billion have passed the first hurdle in getting a government infrastructure guarantee Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander has announced today.
Forty projects – predominantly energy, road and rail - are now at the stage known as prequalification, meaning that they are eligible for the UK Guarantee scheme. Over half that have prequalified are energy projects.
While further discussions, assessment and due diligence remain, the move could see them secure government agreement to act as a guarantor for a project, giving private lenders confidence that they will get their money back if the project cannot pay. If the government gave a guarantee it would be for a proportion of the capital value of the project, and the scheme is authorised to issue up to £40 billion of guarantees in total.
Of the £40 billion of guarantees available, the government has already awarded a £75m guarantee to power plant Drax for their £700 million programme to partially convert the UK’s biggest coal power station to biomass. The power station will produce 7 per cent of the UK’s electricity with the biomass conversions set to be up and running over the next three years. The £16 billion investment Hinkley C nuclear power plant in Somerset is also included in the infrastructure guarantee scheme.
The 15 prequalified projects which have agreed to be named alongside Drax include the proposed Able Marine Energy Park, a port facility to support the manufacture, assembly and installation of offshore renewable technologies on Humberside
UK Guarantees are one option for projects to use when financing themselves - many are also in discussion with private lenders. The prequalification means that should efforts to secure private finance fail, the government is there to help. Government guarantees are offered on commercial terms so involve a fee which is based on the riskiness of the project.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon. Danny Alexander MP said:
“Getting our infrastructure right means we can be globally competitive, boost growth and create jobs across the UK. What we see today is the extent to which the government is reaching out to help the private sector build Britain’s key infrastructure.
“Having passed the first hurdle these companies know the government is there to help if they need it. I hope today’s announcement will encourage even more businesses to consider how they can take advantage of a guarantee.”
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