Balfour Beatty JV preferred bidder for £460m nuclear contract

Balfour Beatty Plc LON:BBY, the worldwide infrastructure group, today announces that its joint venture with NG Bailey, the UK’s largest independent services and engineering company, has been appointed as preferred bidder for the £460m Hinkley Point C power station electrical package, for EDF Energy. The joint venture’s full contract award is scheduled for 2016, subject to a final investment decision by EDF for the new nuclear plant.

Now that decision is fast approaching, people in east Suffolk will soon be asked to take part in further consultation on a number of major issues, including road improvements such as the Four Villages Bypass project, the sites for park and ride services to ferry workers to and from the site, and an accommodation village for workers.

Joining forces has been a key strategy behind the success of South-West firms, by forming alliances in order to leverage scale and expertise, with the backing and support of Somerset Chamber of Commerce.

Design work on the six-year project is expected to start in 2016, with the construction phase starting in 2017. The two new nuclear reactors that form the proposed Hinkley Point C will provide reliable, low carbon electricity to meet 7 per cent of UK demand.

Out of the 25,000 jobs provided during construction, about 1,000 will be apprenticeships.

For the South-West, the project represents a transformational opportunity for local companies as well as for job creation.

David Hurcomb, Balfour Beatty Bailey executive sponsor said: “Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey have been working together for the last five years to develop a compelling proposition for the UK’s nuclear new build programme”.

France’s EDF Energy is leading the consortium to build Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which was given the go-ahead in October 2013.

“We are delighted with today’s news”.

It is now estimated that more than 60% of the construction cost will be placed with UK firms, 3% more than an initial estimate.