The first enormous 2,000 tonne tunnelling machine passed the one mile mark this week during the construction of the first tunnels for HS2 - Britain’s new high speed rail link between London, Birmingham and the north.
A new University of Birmingham spinout, Salinity Solutions, is partnering with the mineral exploration and mining industry with a compact, energy-efficient desalination system that can concentrate the salts in ground water to extract a mineral rich brine.
Bechtel partnership extended after supporting a huge ramp up in CityFibre’s UK-wide Full Fibre rollout in the last 12 months
Built by delivery partner Costain, in a joint venture with Skanska, the Paddington Elizabeth line station has been officially transferred to Transport for London (TfL) and is an outstanding example of collaborative working.
Professor Hannah Cloke is one of a number of University of Reading scientists researching global flood forecasting and supporting advance warnings to help countries and organisations around the world to prepare for flooding events.
Scientists at the University of Oxford demonstrate how it is possible to directly extract valuable metals from hot salty fluids (‘brines’) trapped in porous rocks at depths of around 2km below dormant volcanoes.
In partnership with HS2 Ltd, Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra will commence permanent works on the west London ‘superhub’ station - Old Oak Common. The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP visited the ten-hectare site to meet the team working there and give the thumbs up for work to begin on the biggest newly-built railway station in the UK.
Simon Ellison has been appointed as Costain’s Highways England client director and will be responsible for maintaining and developing the relationship of our longstanding client.
A major landmark has been achieved on Tideway London with tunnel boring machine (TBM) Ursula lifted from the Chambers Wharf shaft after completing her role tunnelling the 7.6km Central section from Battersea to Bermondsey.
Jim Ward appointed BAM Construction’s Regional Director for Scotland
In her new role as Network Rail client director at Costain, the smart infrastructure company, Ann-Marie Morrison will work collaboratively with Network Rail to plan and deliver complex programmes which are more effective, more efficient and create opportunities for local communities.
Eiffage and Kier receive Notice to Proceed for HS2, with their new partners, Ferrovial Agroman and BAM Nuttall
The Eiffage Kier joint venture, recently joined by two new partners Ferrovial Agroman and BAM Nuttall, is pleased that, it has received Notice to Proceed (NTP) from HS2 Limited, enabling it to commence the full detailed design and construction of 80km of Phase 1 of the HS2 railway (the route from London – Birmingham).
Throughout construction of the project, the partners will deliver Lots C2 and C3 of the HS2 high-speed railway. This 80km section runs between the Chilterns to Warwickshire and includes 15 viaducts, 5km of green tunnels, 22km of road diversions, 67 overbridges and 30 million cubic metres of excavation. The total value of the section, including the design and development work already completed is £2,269 million. Construction works are expected to start later in the year.
Since the commencement of the design and development phase in 2017, the joint venture has conducted scheme design and some ground investigation works. This includes the creation of our innovative ‘Heave Monitoring Site’ near Warwickshire to assess ground movement. The site has also been used to develop a platform that ties together data from a multitude of independent systems to present integrated, real-time reporting and insights, which will significantly reduce cost, environmental impact and improve the productivity and safety of operations.
Eiffage Kier has trained 300 new entrants to the construction and engineering industry through its Training Hub sponsored by the CITB Construction Skills Fund and delivered by Bucks College Group. The courses are completely free and give people the qualifications to build a successful new future in the world of civil engineering.
The appointment of BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial Agroman will further strengthen the JV (35% Eiffage; 35% Kier; 15% Ferrovial Agroman; 15% BAM Nuttall) and increase the capacity of skilled workers on the central section of the project. Ferrovial Agroman brings 60 years of rail experience, the last 30 of which include delivering high speed rail schemes around the world, including construction of 25% of the Spanish network and maintenance of 55%. Additionally, BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial Agroman offer in-depth working knowledge of the route as they are currently delivering the central section of the HS2 Enabling Works as two thirds of the Fusion joint venture
Andrew Davies, CEO at Kier, said: ‘We are pleased that the Government has confirmed NTP for the HS2 project, allowing us to progress onto the next phase of works in delivering this vital infrastructure project. We have been successfully delivering the design and development phase since 2017 and working with our new partners BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial Agroman alongside Eiffage we will collectively bring invaluable knowledge and expertise throughout delivery to play our part in the most sustainable high-speed railway of its kind.’
Benoît de Ruffray, Chairman and CEO of Eiffage: ‘Eiffage and its partners welcome the UK Government announcement for the new high speed line HS2. We are very proud to contribute to this project which has become possible thanks to the collaborative approach set by HS2 Ltd since 2017. Whatever difficulties countries are currently facing, we stay confident in the fact that we will overcome the crisis and successfully deliver this ambitious project.’
Stephen Fox, Chief Executive, BAM Nuttall said: ‘The Notice to Proceed for HS2 is extremely positive news, particularly at this difficult time for the country. BAM Nuttall is proud to be involved in this transformational scheme and we look forward to bringing our expertise to this key infrastructure project. BAM Nuttall is delighted to be working in collaboration with Eiffage, Kier and Ferrovial and all other HS2 partners to deliver the inspirational vision set out by HS2.’
Karl Goose, Managing Director, Ferrovial Agroman UK & Ireland: “This decision comes at an extremely important time for the UK. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to build on our HS2 enabling works experience and bring our expertise in infrastructure - high speed rail delivery in particular - to deliver further works for this vital scheme. This partnership is a deeply positive and definite step for us, our client, the supply chain and the UK, especially in light of the current global climate.”
Kier is a leading provider of construction and infrastructure services. We provide specialist design and build capabilities. The knowledge, skills and intellectual capital of our people ensure we are able to project manage and integrate all aspects of a project.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange and with a network of UK offices Kier offers national coverage across all its core activities. With a turnover of £4.5bn, we work to deliver economic and social infrastructure which is vital to the growth of the UK.
Eiffage is one of Europe’s leading construction and concessions companies. The Group’s activities are organised around the following business lines: construction, real estate and urban development, civil engineering, metal, roads, energy and concessions. Thanks to the experience of more than 72,500 employees, Eiffage generated revenues of €18.1 billion in 2019, of which almost 26% was outside France.
Eiffage completed in 2017 the construction of the Bretagne-Pays de la Loire project, one of Europe’s latest high speed rail line projects, which stretches 214kms and aims to greatly improve access to Western France. It has also delivered key projects including the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Royal BAM Group is one of Europe’s largest contractors, delivering exceptional engineering, design, construction, property management and investment services. BAM’s ten operating companies work globally in five European home markets and in niche markets worldwide. The Group turnover £7 billion annually and is listed on Euronext, Amsterdam.
BAM employs approximately 20,000 people, who collaborate to support a diverse range of public and private sector customers, BAM has a worldwide reputation for building sustainable environments that enhance people’s lives – including rail, marine, tunnelling, highways, energy and water schemes. BAM enables the right people to capitalise on state-of-the-art knowledge, resources and digital technologies, providing solutions across the total construction life cycle.
BAM Nuttall, along with BAM Construct UK and BAM PPP in the UK, is one of Royal BAM Group’s ten operating companies. As well as creating sustainable solutions, that help modernise and improve civilisation, we aim to enhance the lives of our people and people in the organisations and communities we work alongside. We care about people and the planet as well as being a well-run profitable business BAM aims to achieve a net positive impact on society.
Ferrovial Agroman manages major, complex, multidisciplinary design and construction projects around the world, in sectors including rail, highways, tunnels, marine, airports and energy. Established in this market since 2003, we design and construct some of the UK and Ireland’s most high-profile transport infrastructure projects. We have the strength and depth to deliver complex major projects in-house, drawing on international expertise and full asset lifecycle capability. We provide our clients with cost-effective, value-added solutions and responsibly design and build assets for people and places.
Ferrovial, a leading global infrastructure operator, is committed to developing sustainable solutions. It is a member of Spain’s blue-chip IBEX 35 index and is also included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good; all its operations are conducted in compliance with the principles of the UN Global Compact, which the company adopted in 2002.
Source: BAM Nuttal
Balfour Beatty announced that it has been awarded a £52 million contract on behalf of HS2, to deliver environmental works across the route from West Midlands to Crewe. The contract has been awarded through the SCAPE Framework, to which the company was appointed as sole contractor in 2018.
The UK must act now to ensure a stable supply of technology-critical metals (TCMs) essential for its transition to clean energy and the delivery of its ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, according to a new Policy Commission report produced by the University of Birmingham.
Crossrail has handed over the Farringdon Elizabeth line station, built by the BAM, Ferrovial, Kier joint venture (Team BFK), to Transport for London (TfL), making it the first central London station to reach handover.
The Environment Agency and Middlesbrough Council are working together on Marton West Beck Flood Alleviation Scheme in Middlesbrough. A major step in a £4.8million Teesside flood scheme has been taken as a new debris screen is lifted into place.