The Infrastructure Podcast

This live episode of the Infrastructure Podcast was recorded at the recent Twin Talks breakfast event hosted in London by the Infrastructure Policy Advancement team at Bentley Systems. 
My guest  is David Lunn, NISTA’s new director for market engagement and in the wide-ranging discussion we explore the progress being made by NISTA, the UK National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, as it works with the supply chain to modernise how major projects are planned designed and executed.
For too long, the UK's infrastructure sector has suffered from chronic inefficiencies, fragmented planning, and lengthening delivery timelines that inflate costs for taxpayers and hinder the service delivered to communities. In response, NISTA is leading a transformation of the way the nation’s infrastructure is designed, delivered and operated, engaging suppliers, investors, and regional leaders in the critical change required.
NISTA is driving a major transformation of the UK's infrastructure sector through its 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy and the dynamic Infrastructure Pipeline.  
Its role and mission is anchored around the UK government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy and the dynamic Infrastructure Pipeline which sets out a £718bn public and private sector investment plan spanning all sectors of the nation’s economic and social infrastructure portfolio.
David joined NISTA this summer and is charged with the challenge of making UK infrastructure more investable. This will see him developing what is billed as an investor-ready pipeline, coordinating engagement across government departments, regulators and investors, and driving reforms that unlock vital private investment.
David came to NISTA from the then-Department for Business and Trade and has had a distinguished career in the UK civil service spanning nearly 30 years. He led the establishment of the UK Infrastructure Bank, serving as a UKIB board member and its first Chief Operating Officer. He began his civil service career at the Department for Transport and led the original funding and governance agreements for Crossrail and the successful conclusion to the CTRL project.
So let’s drill in and find out how NISTA intends to give industry the vital long-term market visibility of workload that will helps suppliers better anticipate future resource needs, invest in necessary skills, prevent regional bottlenecks and accelerate private investment. 
Resources
NISTA website
10 year Infrastructure Strategy
UK Infrastructure Pipeline
UK Infrastructure Bank
Infrastructure Policy Advancement at Bentley Systems

This episode was recorded live at the recent Toronto Transforming Infrastructure Performance Summit and we discuss the challenges around Building Canada's Next Decade - and specifically seeing what lessons can be learnt from the Major project successes seen recently over the provincial border in Québec.
Québec is home to some of Canada's most ambitious infrastructure projects, from transformative transit expansions and airport development to investments that are reshaping the movement of people, goods, and economic opportunity. 
These projects are not only changing how communities connect and grow, they are also providing valuable lessons in how to deliver complex infrastructure successfully at scale. 
Joining me  to explore what Canada's infrastructure leaders can learn from Québec's major project experience is Clémentine Sallée, Senior Director, Major Projects CDPQ Infra, the innovative owner-operator of many infrastructure projects in Canada.
A lawyer by training, Clémentine brings two decades of experience in major-project delivery, infrastructure finance, governance, procurement and commercial strategy across Canadian and international markets. 
All of which makes her well qualified to examine the leadership, partnerships, governance models, and delivery approaches that are helping advance complex projects in today’s increasingly challenging environment. 
Resources
The Alto high-speed rail project 
The Quebec City’s TramCité project
Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project 
CDPQ Infra website
TIP Live Toronto 2026

In this episode we talk about how to unlock the human potential found – or indeed, waiting to be found – in the businesses across the UK infrastructure supply chain.
As we read and hear virtually every day, the sector faces huge challenges as it races to deliver the government's multi-billion pound investment pipeline to upgrade, expand and modernise the nation’s infrastructure and drive towards energy transition and a net zero future. 
Achieving these economic growth targets requires investment in more than just heavy machinery and concrete. It demands a profound change in the way the industry finds, recruits, trains, and retains its people.
My guest today is Adam Crossley, Vice President and Chief People Officer at contracting giant Skanska UK. Having worked in the business for close to two decades and spent seven years before that as an Officer in the British Army, he knows more that most about the need and ways to unlock that vital human potential needed to drive successful outcomes. 
Not least given the changes that we face in the sector. To boost productivity and meet these massive infrastructure goals, businesses like Skanska are rapidly integrating data analytics, digital systems and artificial intelligence. 
This technological shift means that leaders must bridge new skills gaps, attract digitally fluent talent from outside the sector, and reshape traditional and often entrenched organisational cultures. 
At the same time, the workforce must adapt to new demands around carbon literacy, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), and delivering measurable social value as the sector moves towards more sustainable solutions and better outcomes for communities.
Resources
Skanska website
Sophie Hayes Foundation 
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery 
Construction Skills Mission Board 
Green Construction Board 
UK Green Building Council

In this episode we drill into the project delivery challenges facing the sector as it adapts to the new Burnham administration’s drive for devolved power and greater regional investment.
And the government’s 10 year infrastructure strategy and massive £718bn pipeline means the spotlight has turned firmly from project planning to project delivery. 
But it is also true that successive central governments have historically struggled with major project execution, often hindered by bureaucracy, shifting political priorities, and fragmented decision-making. 
So is now the moment for a project delivery transformation?
Well we certainly see the political landscape shifting significantly following Andy Burnham's entry into Downing Street. This brings expectations that his regional "Manchesterism" approach, built on sustained transport and innovation investment, devolved powers, and community-centric regeneration, will be scaled nationally.   
Yet scaling this model is no small feat. Not least when it comes to overcoming the constant politics of project delivery, stretched public sector budgets and the talent gap in the workforce. 
Success will inevitably mean taking radical and decisive steps to get decision making and project delivery in shape to secure the vital private sector confidence needed to invest amidst on-going economic uncertainty. 
Well to unpack these complex dynamics, my guest today is Alistair Godbold, Vice President of the Association for Project Management and Director with The Nichols Group. 
Alistair’s long and distinguished background in major project delivery should make him well placed to shed light on the critical issues ahead be that the need to modernise procurement, empower local communities, or deploy emerging data and AI tools responsibly.
Resources
Association for Project Management 
Nichols Group
The UK Infrastructure Pipeline
Centre for Complex Project Management 
Global Alliance for the Project Profession

This episode explores the future of Heathrow, the UK’s hub airport and a vital engine for national economic growth. 
The discussion was recorded live at the recent TwinTalks breakfast hosted by the Bentley Systems Infrastructure Policy Advancement team and features Helen Elsby, Chief Development Officer at Heathrow, the person responsible for turning the airport’s complex multi-billion-pound ambitions into physical and commercial realities. 
Helen is joined in the discussion by two key members of her supply chain: Nigel Cole, Managing Director of Infrastructure at Mace Construct and Harriet Wheeldon, director at Mott MacDonald.
With passenger volumes continuing to reach record highs, Heathrow continues to progress plans for expansion to combat capacity constraints and keep passengers and cargo moving in, out and across the country smoothly.
The scale of ambition is staggering: a £1.3 billion commitment in 2026 to conclude the current H7 investment cycle, more than £5 billion planned for the forthcoming H8 period (2027–2031), and the greenlighting of planning work for a potential further multibillion pound investment in expansion. 
As the discussion hears, Heathrow plans to build faster, smarter, and more efficiently to deliver maximum value for passengers, airlines, and the UK economy.
Funding these ambitions entirely through private capital requires relentless operational and supply chain efficiency. From Modern Methods of Construction and the use of digital technology to collaboration across a nationwide supply chain, Heathrow must stretch every asset to unlock a 12% capacity boost, transform passenger experience, and drive net-zero goals.
Much to get on with at Heathrow – so much to discuss.
Resources
Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement
Heathrow's H7 2026 plans
Heathrow's H8 plans
Heathrow expansion plans
Interview with Heathrow COO Javier Echave
Infrastructure Policy Advancement