Tony Gee CEO on UK infrastructure: delivery and risk lessons for civil engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
Tony Gee and Partners chief executive Alasdair Fowler argues that civil engineers must tackle systemic issues in UK infrastructure delivery, including fragmented risk allocation between clients, designers and contractors and short-term procurement focused on lowest capital cost. He calls for earlier contractor involvement, integrated design–build teams and longer-term alliancing frameworks to reduce rework, claims and programme overruns on major schemes such as highways and rail upgrades. Fowler also stresses that better data on whole-life performance and carbon, aligned with NEC contracts, should drive design decisions rather than purely initial cost.
Technical Brief
- He notes repeated late-stage design changes on large schemes, often triggered by unresolved ground and utilities risk.
- Interface risk between civils, systems and permanent way is identified as a major driver of claims.
- Fowler points to inconsistent client data on existing assets, hampering reliable whole-life performance and carbon assessments.
- NEC-style collaborative behaviours are said to be undermined when geotechnical and structural designers are novated mid-project.
- For future UK megaprojects, he argues that stable, multi-year funding settlements are as critical as technical standards.
Our Take
Tony Gee and Partners’ leadership commentary sits alongside New Civil Engineer’s recent Heathrow Early Careers Innovation Challenge coverage, signalling that both senior and emerging practitioners are being targeted with messages about changing how UK infrastructure is conceived and delivered.
Within our 747 Infrastructure stories, New Civil Engineer appears frequently as a convenor of awards and innovation platforms (BCIAs, TechFest), so a 34‑year industry veteran speaking through this channel is likely to influence how systemic delivery issues are framed in award criteria and best‑practice benchmarks.
For practitioners, the mix of op‑eds like this and New Civil Engineer’s tech‑ and innovation‑focused events in our database suggests that systemic issues in project delivery are increasingly being linked to digital and sustainability performance, rather than treated purely as programme or cost‑control problems.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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