9th Mar 2005 07:12
Balfour Beatty PLC09 March 2005 9th March 2005 For immediate release BALFOUR BEATTY AWARDED ROAD, RAIL AND SOCIAL HOUSING CONTRACTS TO THE VALUE OF £360 MILLION £241m M1 Widening Programme To Begin Shortly Balfour Beatty, the international, engineering, construction and services Groupannounces today that it has been awarded contracts to a total value of over £360million in the road, rail and social housing sectors. The group is to widen theM1 from Junction 6A to Junction 10 for the Highways Agency, upgrade socialhousing in Newcastle and extend the railway network in Sweden. Commenting on these contracts today Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tylersaid, "These contracts demonstrate the strength of Balfour Beatty's presence ininfrastructure markets. We are working closely with the Highways Agency onseveral aspects of its forward programme, including construction, widening andmaintenance. We are a top-three player in the social housing market for whichthe government has pledged some £47 billion over the next five years. We arealso a leading supplier to a number of European rail network owners as theyupgrade and extend their assets". M1 WIDENING Under a £241 million early contractor involvement contract, Balfour Beatty CivilEngineering has been selected, in joint venture with Skanska, to widen the M1motorway between junction 6A at the M25 and Junction 10, at Luton. Preparationand design work will commence shortly with construction scheduled to begintowards the end of the year. The M1 through Hertfordshire carries an average of 160,000 vehicles per day withlong delays at peak times. The widening will improve safety, reduce congestionand deliver greater journey time reliability. The work will be carried out on both carriageways to bring it up to a fullstandard four-lane motorway with continuous hard shoulders. There will be newinterchanges at Junctions 8 and 9 and distribution roads will be constructed toimprove traffic flows through Junction 8. SOCIAL HOUSING IN NEWCASTLE Mansell, acquired by Balfour Beatty at the end of 2003 and a leading player inthe social housing market, has been awarded a contract with an estimated valueof £70 million to refurbish 34 multi-storey housing blocks, involvingapproaching 3000 homes, and 10,000 traditional houses by Your Homes Newcastle,which is responsible for the £600 million six-year Decent Homes Programme inNewcastle-Upon-Tyne. Mansell Partnership Housing, the company's specialist social housing arm, wasthe national "Partnering Contractor of the Year" at the 2004 Housing ExcellenceAwards. Work on the Newcastle Scheme will begin in the spring. SWEDISH RAIL Balfour Beatty Rail has been awarded two contracts in Sweden, in joint venture,with a total value of approximately £50 million. The contracts are for theconstruction of about 110 kilometres of track between Nyland and Husum in thenorthern part of Sweden and the electrification of the 120 kilometre railwayline between Kristianstad and Karlskrona along the Blekinge coastline insouthern Sweden. - ENDS -Enquiries to: Tim Sharp Tel: 020 7216 6884 www.balfourbeatty.com Notes to Editors 1. Balfour Beatty has carried out a range of major widening projects in recent years, including: M25 Junctions 12-15 £148 million M25 Junctions 8-10 £93 million M20 Junctions 5-6 £70 million M6 Junctions 30-32 £37 million M25 Junctions 10-13 £30 million 2. Balfour Beatty is the UK's leading road management maintenance company with responsibility for Highways Agency Areas 2, 3 and 4, together stretching from the West Country to the Kent coast, and for a number of local authorities including North Yorkshire and Hampshire. 3. Balfour Beatty has four Early Contractor Involvement schemes for the Highways Agency, being: A303 Stonehenge £190 million A3 Hindhead £130 million A46 Newark £110 million A1 Weatherby £40 million 4. Balfour Beatty has a portfolio of four Design, Build, Finance and Operate road schemes under the UK government's PFI programme. These are the M1/A1 Link in Yorkshire, the A30/A35 in Devon and Dorset, the A50 in Derbyshire and the M77 in Glasgow. 5. Mansell Partnership Housing is the group's specialist social housing arm with annual sales of approximately £150 million. The government has pledged £47 billion to upgrading affordable housing in the period to 2010. 6. Balfour Beatty is the world's largest fixed rail infrastructure contractor with a substantial presence in a number of continental European markets including Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Austria. 7. Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction and services group, well positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant growth potential. Its partnerships with public and private customers generate secure, sustainable income. Its financial position, with significant net cash and with strong operating cash flows, offers continuing flexibility to add additional capacity and expertise to the business mix and to make appropriate investments in PPP and other long-term growth opportunities. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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