Balfour Beatty named as preferred bidder on £460m Hinkley Point contract
Balfour Beatty has been appointed the preferred bidder to construct nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C in a multi-million pound contract.
The construction group has been named alongside engineering group NG Bailey in a 50-50 joint venture as the firms expected to deliver the critical infrastructure behind the station. The contract with EDF Energy is worth £460m and will create 1,000 jobs, including “many specialist engineers”.
The contract to work on the North Somerset power plant includes designing and installing more than 3,000 kilometres of cable – 76,000 in total – as well as more than 180km of cable containment support systems; fire and environmental sealing; design and installation of earthing systems, and specialist packages associated with data acquisition and plant control.
The JV, which is being called Balfour Beatty Bailey, will recruit a “significant proportion of the new workforce” locally. On top of the regular jobs, it will require 60 local apprenticeships and training commitments and partnerships with local colleges.
Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn said: "This project enables Balfour Beatty to deploy its extensive experience and knowledge of the nuclear sector as the UK takes its next significant step forward in low-carbon energy.
"The new nuclear programme demands a scale of resources and expertise that only the most capable and trusted partners can deliver. Equally significant, the project requires us to draw on the local community and its people in building what will be a highly specialist workforce.”
Meanwhile G4S has secured a 10-year contract worth £80m to provide security services during construction.
G4S will provide on-site security management which will include access control, perimeter security and visitor search and screening. As part of a panel of suppliers G4S will also provide screening and vetting of on-site contractors. It will employ 300 staff.
Doug Hewitson, regional managing director said: "We have had the privilege of working with EDF at Hinkley Point for the past four years, and this contract award is a great endorsement of the partnership we have developed.
"We are delighted to be part of one of the most complex and challenging construction projects in the UK."
The six year project is expected to commence in 2016, with design work and the construction phase in 2017. Hinkley Point will be the first nuclear power station to be built in the UK for 20 years.