Douglas Oakervee


Douglas Edwin Oakervee FHKIE is a British civil engineer who is a past chairman of both HS2 and Crossrail, and was the 139th president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He is often announced at dinners as coming out of retirement more times than Frank Sinatra. He was awarded the CBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his contributions to civil engineering.

Early life and education

He was born in 1940 in northwest London and attended Willesden Technical College.

Civil engineering projects

In 1991, Oakervee was appointed as project director for the Hong Kong International Airport project, built on a man-made island in the South China Sea. Before that he was the chief tunnel engineer on the Hong Kong mass transit railway project. From 2012 to 2014 he was chairman of the company constructing the High Speed 2 railway in England.

HS2 review

In June 2019, Boris Johnson, then a candidate for the Conservative Party leadership, said he would ask Oakervee to lead a review of the plans for HS2. In August, with Johnson now Prime Minister, the review was announced and terms of reference were published by the Department for Transport. Work was completed in November but its report – known as the Oakervee Review – was not published until February 2020. The report concluded that the original rationale for HS2 was still valid as "there is a need for greater capacity.

Honours and awards