News Releases
Balfour Beatty Joint Venture Reaches Financial Close On £132 Million M77 PFI Road Project
08 May 2003Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group, announces today that Connect Ltd, a joint venture with Atkins in which Balfour Beatty holds a 67% share, has reached financial close for the £132 million M77 (Fenwick to Malletsheugh)/Glasgow Southern Orbital (GSO) Design, Build, Finance and Operate contract. The concession is for a period of 32 years. The clients are East Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish Executive and South Lanarkshire Council.
The achievement of financial close for this project follows the award to Balfour Beatty earlier this week of the £148 million M25 widening scheme by the Highways Agency.
The M77/GSO scheme covers approximately 25 km of dual carriageway and motorway to improve strategic links between Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Glasgow. The M77 will be extended southwards to the Kilmarnock bypass with the new Glasgow Southern Orbital road providing a dual carriageway linking the new section of the M77 with the A726 at Philipshill.
Commenting on the financial close today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Mike Welton, said: “We are delighted to have brought this major scheme to financial close. It confirms Balfour Beatty’s position as a leader in the DBFO market, with three other schemes already completed and fully operational. We are also a leader in UK road construction, widening, management and maintenance for the Highways Agency, Scottish Executive and local authorities and are well placed to grow further in this sector.”
The project is being financed by a fixed rate investment grade bond.
Under a 24-month construction programme, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering will upgrade 15 km of the existing A77 to motorway standard by extending the M77 Ayr Road Route south to the dual carriageway at Kilmarnock. The project also provides the new 9 km Glasgow Southern Orbital dual carriageway local road between the new motorway and the A726 trunk road.
ENDS
Enquiries to:
Tim Sharp
Tel: +44 (0)20 7216 6884
Notes to Editors
1. Balfour Beatty Capital Projects is one of the UK’s leading participants in the privately financed infrastructure market with 14 concessions now either in construction or fully operational. These comprise four roads, three hospitals, a major schools scheme, the two Metronet concessions for the London Underground, the power supply scheme for the London Underground system, two power stations and a waste water scheme in Aberdeen.
2. Balfour Beatty’s current road construction contracts in England include the £486 million Birmingham Northern Relief Road (in joint venture), the £148 million M25 contract close to Heathrow Airport and the £75 million A120 in Essex. The company is also currently undertaking the £34 million Haddington to Dunbar Expressway, east of Edinburgh and the £23 million A8 Baillieston to Newhouse Major Maintenance contract near Glasgow for the Scottish Executive.
3. Balfour Beatty owns and operates three Design, Build, Finance and Operate roads under the government’s PPP/PFI initiative. These are the A1-M1 Link in Yorkshire, the A30/35 in Devon and Dorset and the A50 between Derby and Stoke.
4. Balfour Beatty, through its subsidiary, RCS, is one of the UK’s leading road maintainers. It is responsible for approaching £200 million of annual maintenance works for the Highways Agency Areas 2, 3 and 4 and for local authorities in North Yorkshire, Hampshire, Worcestershire and Bedfordshire amongst others.
5. Balfour Beatty has been selected by the Highways Agency for its first two major Early Contractor Involvement contracts. These are the A303 Stonehenge project valued at some £150 million and the £132 million A3 project at Hindhead.
