8th Nov 2005 07:00
Balfour Beatty PLC08 November 2005 8 November 2005 BALFOUR BEATTY AWARDED £171 MILLION A421 ROAD SCHEME BY THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY ====================== Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,announces today that the Highways Agency has awarded Balfour Beatty CivilEngineering the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract for the A421 schemebetween the M1 and Bedford. The Highways Agency scheme budget for the contract is £171 million. Theconstruction programme is due to start in early 2008, with the new roadscheduled to open in 2010. Work on the design development, statutory process andenvironmental statement will commence immediately. Commenting on the award today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said: "We are very pleased to have been awarded a sixth Early Contractor Involvementscheme by the Highways Agency. The opportunity afforded by this form of contractto work in partnership with the customer, the designer and other stakeholdergroups in developing the scheme helps ensure the best possible projectout-turn." The existing A421 is largely single carriageway, is extremely busy and carries ahigh proportion of HGV traffic. In the new scheme, M1 Junction 13 will beremodelled and a 13 kilometre dual carriageway will be built linking the M1 withthe existing ring road to the south of Bedford. Balfour Beatty's current ECI portfolio consists of the A1(M) Bramham to Wetherbyupgrading, the A3 Hindhead improvement, the A303 scheme adjacent to Stonehenge,the A46 Newark to Widmerpool improvement and the M1 Junction 6a to 10 wideningscheme which will commence construction early next year. ENDS Enquiries to:Tim SharpTel: 020 7216 6884www.balfourbeatty.com Notes to Editors---------------- 1. Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering is a UK leader in road building and widening schemes. In December this year, it will hand over the major M25 widening scheme adjacent to Heathrow Airport ahead of schedule. In April, it completed the £132 million M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital PFI scheme in Scotland on time and on budget. 2. Balfour Beatty owns and operates four PFI road schemes. These are the M1/A1 Link in Yorkshire, the A30/A35 in Devon and Dorset, the A50 in Derbyshire and the M77/GSO in Scotland. 3. Through its subsidiary, RCS, Balfour Beatty is a leading road manager and maintainer with a wide range of contracts for the Highways Agency and local authorities. 4. 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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