Street light replacement offers boost to civil engineering recruitment

12/02/2010 10:57:52

The government has announced a new allocation of funding to local authorities for the purpose of replacing street lights, which could help to create new civil engineering jobs.

Councils in Durham, Stockton, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kirklees and Warrington will between them receive £620 million, generated through a private finance initiative, to upgrade their existing street lighting.

This is in addition to £857 million already allocated to 24 local authorities nationwide for this purpose, while there are also a further six projects also in the pipeline, which could help to fuel civil engineering recruitment in these areas.

Transport minister Sadiq Khan remarked: "I am very pleased that local authorities are using this private finance initiative funding to deliver real benefits to their local residents.

"Partnerships like this provide vital investment in public services, which can transform the experience of the travelling public, whether they are walking, driving or riding."

Infrastructure works such as this enabled the value of underlying civil engineering project starts across the UK to rise by 22 per cent year-on-year over the final quarter of 2009, according to latest figures from Glenigan.

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