Liverpool's managing director believes the Anfield Road expansion is a "real statement" from owners Fenway Sports Group to their long-term commitment at the club.
Liverpool's progress to take their capacity up to 61,000 is continuing at pace, with completion on the 7,000-seat project still expected in time for the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
Those proposals were initially slated to cost around £60m but have since risen by a third up to £80m as a result of the pandemic.
The Anfield Road expansion will be the third major project undertaken during the FSG era following the £110m Main Stand increase in 2016 and the opening of the £50m AXA Training Centre in November of 2020.
Club MD, Mr Hughes, who was speaking at an update on the Anfield Road expansion on Thursday, believes the investment in the infrastructure is proof of FSG's desire to keep the Reds functioning as a self-sustainable business at the elite end of football.
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And at a time when Premier League rivals Chelsea are seeing their owner, Roman Abramovich, have wide-ranging sanctions placed on the club by the UK Government, Mr Hughes says it is vital for Liverpool to continue operating within their own business model.
"It's absolutely critical to safeguard the future," Mr Hughes told the ECHO.
"We've been working on these projects for a long time.
"The Main Stand has gone well, the training ground has gone well and we're on track with this project as well.
"I think we will have spent over £250m on infrastructure for the long-term at the club, which I think is a real statement from the owners for the future of Liverpool Football Club."
The details of Liverpool's accounts, released near the end of February, suggested a club that was emerging safely out of the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.
Liverpool's strong media revenue growth saw overall losses reduced to just £4.8m, meaning the loss-before-tax number had shrunk by £41.5m from the previous year's results.
The numbers painted the picture of Liverpool being on stable footing after a deeply troubling financial period for so many in football, with more sizable progress expected in next year's figures.
Mr Hughes said of Liverpool's latest accounts: "I think it is important that you look at both financial years.
"So different clubs have different year-ends and across both of those financial years, the season was extended, so you really need to look at both seasons together.
"Across both seasons, our statutory loss was about £50m, which is obviously a serious number, it's a lot of money.
"But I think relatively speaking, compared to other clubs, the club have done well, so I feel pleased with how we've managed that and come through it.
"It is still not an insignificant loss during that period, though."
