Australia’s continued shortage of experienced engineers risks delaying the slew of major projects coming on stream as state governments sell assets to invest in new infrastructure projects, reports The Australian Financial Review.

There are at least $18 billion worth of rail projects in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne which may be threatened if engineering firms cannot find enough engineers.Some of the major rail projects include Sydney’s $8.3-billion North West Rail Link, the $4.5 billion Inland Rail freight route linking Brisbane and Melbourne and the $5 billion Brisbane BAT tunnel project.

“Anecdotally, the skills shortage feels greater,” Transfield Services chief Graeme Hunt told The Australian Financial Review on Monday. “What is different this time is that across several states, Australia is moving into an unprecedented phase of asset sales to fund construction of overdue public infrastructure projects over the next 15 to 20 years.”

“If the work that’s promised comes online quickly, we will run into capability ­problems,” Consult Australia CEO Megan Motto told The AFR.

For Transfield, which focuses on maintaining and operating assets, as opposed to building them, the shortages of qualified civil, electrical and ­mechanical engineers are a concern.

“When you are operating and ­maintaining energy and tele­communications networks, roads and tunnels or large public facilities, those professions are very important...Employers needed the flexibility to employ foreign labour...This also underscores the need for ­flexibility in sourcing skilled foreign labour through programmes such as the 457 visa,” he said.