HS2 announces flurry of new contracts including another for CH2M – the firm of its chief exec-to-be
New contracts have been awarded for the second phase of HS2, including one for CH2M – HS2's incoming chief executive's company.
The announcement comes after questions were asked over Mark Thurston's appointment last month and possible conflicts of interest. Thurston joins from his post managing European affairs at CH2M in the spring.
American engineering giant CH2M is already the engineering delivery partner for phase one of HS2.
Read more: HS2 faces questions over chief exec appointment
Now CH2M will also be the development partner for Phase Two B (from Crewe to Manchester and West Midlands to Leeds) of HS2. It had been up against Bechtel and a joint venture between Mace and Turner & Townsend for the £170m job.
New contracts have also been awarded to Arup, an Aecom/Capita/INECO joint venture and a Mott MacDonald/WSP joint venture in professional services roles worth up to £350m.
HS2 said the companies will provide "the expert engineering and environmental support needed" to take forward the development of the route north of Crewe to Manchester and from the West Midlands to Yorkshire, with a hybrid Bill expected to be presented to Parliament in 2019.
Read more: Full steam ahead: HS2 appoints CH2M's Mark Thurston as new chief exec
In taking up his new role, Thurston replaces another former CH2M boss, Roy Hill, who served as interim chief executive from October to January, leading some to question a “revolving door” between the operations.
TaxPayers' Alliance chief executive John O'Connell said: "This curious arrangement doesn't look great where HS2's incoming chief executive has been bidding for multi-million pound contracts from his current job. HS2 is already a dreadful deal for taxpayers and they'll want to be assured that these contracts represent value for money and were entered into without any sort of conflict of interest coming into play."
HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins, said that to avoid any conflict of interest, Thurston would chop "all links" with CH2M before starting working on the rail project.
Beth West, HS2 commercial director, said: “Conflict of interest is something we have tried very hard to avoid. Our robust measures to address this range from having anonymised bidders in all award approval documentation to excluding our interim CEO from attending and receiving minutes from any meetings or discussions during which the procurement might be discussed. We are determined to be fair to everyone, and that includes CH2M.”
Read more: Mapped: This is the route HS2 will take north of Birmingham
The government gave the go ahead for the sections of the HS2 route, subject to some specific route refinements which are under consultation, in November last year.
The lines are planned to open in 2033, to bolster capacity between the UK’s largest cities, improving connectivity and reducing journey times.