On Monday 23 March 2026, Infrastructure Cymru 2026 brought together over 100 policymakers, infrastructure providers, delivery bodies and community voices from across Wales for a one-day event at Cornerstone, Cardiff. The event marked a unique moment in Wales’ infrastructure conversation as one of the few opportunities to bring infrastructure sectors together to both reflect on evidence gathered to date and to facilitate a forward-looking discussion about the infrastructure priorities and choices facing the next Senedd.

Eryl Bradley summed up the feeling in the room before discussions got underway:

Launching a new phase of evidence

A central focus of the day was the official launch of two major NICW publications:

• The Wales Infrastructure Assessment, providing a cross-sector view of Wales’ long-term infrastructure needs, including energy, transport, water, digital infrastructure and the circular economy.
• The Infrastructure Delivery Report, examining how infrastructure in Wales can be planned, funded and delivered more effectively. 

Together, these reports represent the culmination of NICW’s recent programme of research and engagement, offering an integrated evidence base to inform future decision-making.

From evidence to delivery

Infrastructure Cymru was not just about these publications it was about a dialogue with stakeholders. Where Commissioners could hear directly from those involved with the planning and delivery of infrastructure projects in Wales about the issues faced by them on a daily basis. The event was designed to create space for discussion between national and local government, regulators, industry, delivery partners and communities, exploring how policy intent translates into delivery on the ground.

Using interactive methods to gather thoughts and opinions and employing visual engagement techniques, the day was enriched by giving delegates and enhanced way of interacting with the debate. 

We started by asking attendees what their biggest priority for infrastructure improvement across infrastructure sectors is.

From the responses, it was clear that there was a range of issues which the audience thought needs addressing, with funding, planning and the political environment proving to be the most popular amongst delegates. 

When asked what the biggest challenge to infrastructure delivery in Wales will be in the next 5 – 10 years, opinion was that this would be constrained less by the absence of plans, and more by funding uncertainty, weak delivery capability, fragmented governance, an ageing asset base, and insufficient political consensus to take difficult, long-term decisions at the pace and scale required for the needs of Wales as well as the climate and nature emergency.

There was also an opinion that Wales plc should be seen as a good place to invest, but:

“If Wales appears to be a difficult place to consent (around policy, planning regime performance and timescales, and political leadership) infrastructure investors will look for less risky places to invest.”
– Infrastructure Cymru Delegate

A key interactive element of the day was the World Café session, structured around themed discussion “stations” and supported by NICW Commissioners. These conversations focused on five areas that consistently emerge as pivotal to infrastructure delivery in Wales:

• Politics, Planning and Regulation
• Funding and investment
• Skills
• Communities and engagement
• Nature and environment

Each session invited participants to reflect candidly on barriers, opportunities and practical actions and record them. Commissioners recorded their takeaway observations from the discussion, and these can be found on visual representation above. Other comments can be found below:

Looking ahead to Future Wales 2050

The afternoon programme built towards a forward-looking discussion on “Future Wales 2050”, considering the challenges and opportunities facing Wales over the next Senedd term and beyond. With climate change, demographic shifts, technological change and fiscal constraints all shaping the infrastructure landscape, the discussion reinforced the importance of long-term, strategic and coordinated decision-making with good, meaningful and responsive community engagement threaded throughout.

In translating this to areas which NICW should focus on in for the next Senedd term the overall feeling was that focus on turning urgency into delivery by convening decision-makers around system blockers, setting out a prioritised and politically resilient pipeline, proposing practical funding and planning solutions, embedding place-based delivery, and holding Government to account for action, recognising that the greatest risk is no longer controversy, but delay.

“Interdependency between infrastructure sectors – this is hard to do from within any one sector, but NICW can really effectively coordinate across and provide that joined up thinking and leadership.”  – Infrastructure Cymru Delegate

Delivering Infrastructure in Partnership

What distinguished Infrastructure Cymru 2026 was its emphasis on a collaborative approach to Wales’ infrastructure future. By bringing together voices from across sectors and disciplines, the event recognised that delivering resilient, inclusive and sustainable infrastructure is not the responsibility of any single organisation, but a collective endeavour. All this is needed in the context of thinking of future generations and the Wales we want, as Aled Rowlands emphasises:

As the evidence base continues to develop, the insights gathered at Infrastructure Cymru will play an important role in shaping NICW’s ongoing advice and engagement, helping ensure that Wales’ infrastructure decisions are informed, future-focused and grounded in real-world experience. 

All NICW Commissioners found the event to be a very useful day to bring people together and will look to hold more of these events in the future. Whilst we wait for the formation of a new Programme for Government, NICW will use all of the insights received to work with the Welsh Government to positively frame our remit for the next Senedd term. 

Thank you to all our speakers, panel members and contributors who made the day a success.