UK competition watchdog probes civil engineering in road and rail

The CMA said it will conduct a “market study” that will examine the supply of roads and railways in the UK and whether supply of these services has “effects to the interests of consumers”.

The supply of roads and railways encompasses all aspects of the design, planning, construction, enhancement, renewal and maintenance of infrastructure, it said.

The CMA said previous sectors indicated that the sector is not operating as effectively as it could. It noted that in October 2024, the National Infrastructure Commission identified four factors holding infrastructure projects back in the UK.

Those were: the absence of a long-term and stable infrastructure strategy, client and sponsorship challenges, inefficient consenting and compliance processes, and a constrained supply chain.

The NIC estimated that system-wide improvements in these areas could save 10-25% on infrastructure projects.

The CMA has invited representations on whether it should make an investigation into civil engineering in road and rail by 17 July. Together, road and rail, excluding the HS2 high-speed railway, accounted for 70-75% of government infrastructure spending on economic infrastructure in 2022.

It said that it would address questions including:

• How public authorities can access and assess the right information to make decisions when procuring roads and railways;
• How public authorities can effectively work with the market to deliver projects on time, to budget and a high level of quality;
• Whether procurement, planning or other regulatory processes create significant unnecessary barriers that limit companies’ ability and incentive to enter;
• What changes to the way the ecosystem would incentivize and support civil engineering firms to deliver roads and railways in a way that delivers productivity and growth.

The market study comes as the UK government publishes its 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, which sets out a long-term plan for the country’s infrastructure and a forward pipeline of priorities.

“This review will support growth and investment in the sector by helping the market to operate as effectively,” the CMA said.