Letter: Mega projects can be managed more frugally

Your article “UK should avoid costly mega projects such as HS2, say academics” (October 26) ignores the fact that some large infrastructure assets are indivisible, such as the London 2012 Olympics and Crossrail.

Such projects can be broken down into smaller, more manageable elements and then integrated into a functioning and useful system. When mega projects are not treated as a one-off endeavour, and are organised effectively, they can be both repeatable, modular and standardised to encourage frugality, innovation and flexibility. There is much to gain from innovation in mega projects and transferring lessons from one project to the next.

Andrew Davies

RM Phillips Freeman Chair and Professor of Innovation Management, University of Sussex Business School

Brighton, UK

In response to the FT article https://www.ft.com/content/b32d27a0-ea22-4e26-9c7b-2b072d9f8b46