The Construction Industry Must Deliver More Value for Money

As appeared on branschaktuellt.se

If the construction and civil engineering industry were more productive, an additional SEK 225 billion could be invested in Sweden’s transport infrastructure, according to a new report from Innovationsföretagen (The Swedish Federation of Consulting Engineers and Architects).

SEK 1.2 Trillion Investment Ahead

Over the next twelve years, SEK 1.2 trillion is set to be invested in Swedish transport infrastructure. However, the report highlights a troubling trend: productivity in the construction and infrastructure sector has been declining since the late 1990s. Significant inefficiencies in the use of resources—both in terms of investment and maintenance—are identified.

Three Key Causes Highlighted:

1. The strategic value of technical consultants is underutilised
2. Projects often lack a holistic, long-term perspective
3. Public procurement places too much emphasis on the lowest price rather than long-term societal value

“If productivity in the construction sector had kept pace with historical trends, an extra SEK 225 billion could be freed up for infrastructure development over the next twelve years. That represents a major loss of potential value to society,” says Fredrik Bergström, PhD in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and author of the report.

Ten Recommendations to Improve Future Investments

The report outlines a reform package with ten concrete areas for improvement, aimed at boosting the impact and efficiency of future infrastructure investments:

1. Build trust between clients and technical consultants – Shift to trust-based governance and reduce micromanagement
2. Strengthen early-stage dialogue – Involve senior advisors earlier in the process
3. Refocus procurement priorities – Shift towards functionality, quality, and capacity for innovation
4. Encourage innovation and function-based tenders
5. Leverage international expertise and global best practices
6. Adopt alternative procurement and delivery models – such as alliance projects and PPP (Public-Private Partnerships)
7. Promote whole-life and system-level thinking – for a more sustainable transport system
8. Enhance systematic learning – establish a national learning bank for the industry
9. Promote balanced risk allocation
10. Consider organisational reforms – draw inspiration from successful models abroad, such as in Norway

“Infrastructure projects are becoming more expensive and take longer to complete. Sweden needs a fresh approach. It’s not just about investing more resources—it’s about getting more value for the money. That starts with better use of the expertise that already exists, especially among technical consultants,” says Richard Österberg, PhD in Engineering and Head of Analysis at Innovationsföretagen.