Civil engineering project starts uptick

There are indications of positive momentum in the civil engineering sector with an uptick in project starts.

Although there was a decline against the same period a year ago, Glenigan’s market intelligence shows that the underlying value (work valued up to £100 million) of civil engineering project starts in the three months to September 2025 increased by 4% against the previous three months.

There was also a 38% rise in the value of main contract awards compared to the preceding quarter.

Glenigan economics director Allan Wilén commented: “The sector is rapidly evolving, with a government focus on clean energy projects as well as the approval of offshore windfarm projects set to support overall growth in the future.”

Energy buzz

The energy sector provided the largest share of starts at 48% with £1,590 million-worth of work started.

This includes schemes such as the £50 million Drum Farm Energy Storage System in Scotland, where Clarke Energy was recently appointed as main contractor (Project ID: 21506933).

Road to growth

The most recent quarter also saw construction start on £622 million-worth of roads projects.

This included sizeable schemes such as further phases, valued at £32.5 million, of the A350 Chippenham bypass (Project ID: 19419702, pictured), and a £20 million improvements job on the A47 in Norfolk between Tuddenham to Easton (Project ID: 24107485).

Further schemes are in the pipeline with Glenigan’s research finding 241 road projects valued between £1 million and £100 million that have detailed planning permission and are due to start on site in the next 12 months.

A change in policy by the Welsh government is also bringing forward more work in the country, partially reversing an earlier embargo on major road schemes.

Recent policy shifts under the Welsh roads review now permit ‘regionally important’ schemes, provided they meet new low-carbon transport criteria.

Glenigan’s research shows a sharp upturn in planning approvals for civil engineering work in Wales, and procurement is beginning on road schemes, including the £50 million Cynon Gateway plan for a bypass near Aberdare (Project ID: 20124856) and a £100 million bypass on the A483 between Llandeilo and Ffairfach (Project ID: 18241473).

Water work

The water sector also promises more work after five utility companies won approval from the Competition and Markets Authority to spend an extra £556 million to upgrade infrastructure and improve resilience.

Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South East Water, Southern Water, and Wessex Water all challenged Ofwat’s 2024 price review and can now spend more.

This work will all be let through existing framework agreements, and Glenigan’s research has identified many of these schemes.

There are 830 utilities projects valued at between £1 million and £100 million with detailed planning approval and due to start in the next year. A swathe of these schemes are water-related.

Examples range from a £1.9 million transfer pumping station in Loughborough for Severn Trent (Project ID: 25056011) to a £19 million sewage treatment works planned by Thames Water in Chichester, where work is expected to begin in November (Project ID: 24279157).

Boost to workload

With openings in a range of sectors, civil engineering prospects are set to boost workload going forward.