The government has announced that Infrastructure UK (IUK) and the Major Projects Authority (MPA) will merge and become the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.The new organisation will bring together government expertise in the financing, delivery and assurance of infrastructure projects, which range from large scale infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and the Thames Tideway Tunnel to major transformation programmes such as Universal Credit.It will come into formal existence on 1 January 2016, reporting jointly to the Chancellor and Minister for the Cabinet Office, and its chief executive will be Tony Meggs, who is the current chief executive of the MPA.It has also been announced today that Geoffrey Spence, the current chief executive of IUK, has decided to leave his current role and pursue a new challenge in the private sector.Chancellor George Osborne (pictured) said: “By bringing together Infrastructure UK with the Major Projects Authority, and creating the new National Infrastructure Commission, we are moving to the next stage in our plan to ensure Britain’s economy gets the transformational projects it needs.”Minister for the Cabinet Office, Matt Hancock, added: "The new Infrastructure and Projects Authority is a further step forward in delivering what Britain needs to prosper in the 21st century. By combining projects expertise with funding authority we will improve the government's ability to deliver, and the economic security that comes with it. Tony Meggs has been a hugely respected chief executive of the MPA and has the leadership and capability to make the new IMPA a great success."