The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 177

Guest: Paul Reilly, President & Managing Director for the UK & Ireland at WSP

Unlocking UK potential

In this episode I am joined by Paul Reilly, President & Managing Director for the UK & Ireland at global consulting giant WSP.

There is plenty to chat through with Paul today. We are halfway through the parliamentary term and have a new Prime Minister in the shape of former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. His administration continues to place infrastructure delivery at the heart of its national economic strategy. 

And with NISTA, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, now fully embedded in its second year, the focus has shifted sharply from strategic vision to the execution of an unprecedented £718 billion public and private investment pipeline.

Achieving this vision, alongside the mandate to deliver 1.5 million new homes and meet critical net-zero carbon targets, presents a transformative opportunity for the infrastructure sector.

Unlocking this potential requires overcoming deep-rooted, systemic hurdles: embedding digital technology into legacy supply chains, industrialising construction through modern methods, and closing an alarming deficit of 100,000 workers annually.

Businesses like WSP have a key role to play in achieving the required delivery transformation. As one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services consultancies, with 12,000 specialists across the UK and Ireland and a global network of over 83,000 professionals, Paul leads a team capable of rethinking the way we turn ambition into delivery.

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