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Having been watching the HS2 debacle for many, many years, it is worth noting two things. One is that we, in the UK, are especially incompetent when it comes t
by hkt 6y ago
Having been watching the HS2 debacle for many, many years, it is worth noting two things.
One is that we, in the UK, are especially incompetent when it comes to almost all forms of capital spending. Our IT projects, property development, transport projects etc all suffer from this. HS2 is no different.
But more importantly to that cost is the land which has to be bought. Yes, there are lots of expensive consultants to pay because HSR is relatively complicated, but the cost of land in London and the South East of England is exorbitant. I don't have a number, but would expect this to constitute half the cost of the first phase of building.
- Gibbon1 6y ago> But more importantly to that cost is the land which has to be bought. I've been increasing thinking this is a negative effect of fictionalization and the resulting explosion in property prices. If the government needs to buy some land it competes with investors with access to free money from the central banks.
- pydry 6y ago>we, in the UK, are especially incompetent when it comes to almost all forms of capital spending I don't think anybody is particularly good. China is better at building HSR largely by dint of having more practice, not because they're better at capital expenditure. IT projects are corruption, I think. There's no way Accenture would survive in a properly competitive market for IT were it not for the UK government contracts having legal requirements only they and a few other large consulting companies can meet.