The Guidance to Conducting Gateway Assurance Reviews, produced by the UK’s National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority for international use, sets out a practical approach for reviewing infrastructure projects at key decision points. It explains how Gateway Reviews should be planned, conducted and reported, and how review teams can use workbooks and report templates to provide clear, objective assessments of project readiness.
Gateway Reviews are designed to improve the quality of infrastructure business cases and help bring proposals up to the standard required by international lenders. The guidance sets out a quality assurance process that can identify weaknesses and support improvements before projects come to market, giving governments and prospective lenders greater confidence that projects have been properly developed and are deliverable.
The approach is structured around five review points across the project lifecycle:
Gate 1: Business Justification
Gate 5: Operations Review and Benefits Realisation
The first three gates align with the development of the Early, Intermediate and Full Business Cases, while Gates 4 and 5 support readiness for service and long-term benefits realisation.
This guidance is part of the UK’s wider infrastructure project preparation offer. It complements the Five Case Model by giving governments a structured way to test whether projects remain strategically justified, offer value for money, are commercially viable, affordable and deliverable. It also reflects international expectations for sustainable infrastructure, with review questions covering climate, environmental and social risks across the project lifecycle.
By applying Gateway Assurance Reviews, governments can strengthen project governance, reduce the risk of poor investment decisions, and build more credible infrastructure pipelines for public and private finance.
Download the Guidance to Conducting Gateway Assurance Reviews and supporting Gate 1–5 workbooks for practical guidance on applying Gateway Reviews to infrastructure projects.