Media

News Releases

Balfour Beatty secures new £74 million contract on the Forth Bridge

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, services and investment group, announces today that it has been awarded a new contract by Network Rail to complete the remaining restoration and painting of the Forth Bridge.

Valued at £74 million, the contract is set to mark the end of a modern myth when the painting on the Forth Bridge, which carries the East Coast Main Line north of Edinburgh, comes to an end in 2012.

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering has been undertaking the refurbishment works on the bridge for the past six years and its successful team will be responsible for delivering the new contract.

Commenting on the award today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said:

"We are delighted to be continuing our operations for Network Rail on the Forth Bridge. Working on this iconic railway structure presents a number of unique challenges. However, together with Network Rail, we will be able to build on our long-term partnership to complete this challenging and fundamentally important work. By 2012, the bridge will be fully restored to its original condition."

Announcing the award today, Iain Coucher, Network Rail’s Chief Executive, said:

"The team currently working on the bridge has now completed some of the most difficult work and they have already overcome the most significant challenges that this project posed. For that reason, we have taken the decision to accelerate the work and increase the annual investment with the aim of generating long-term financial savings."

The works on the Forth Bridge will be carried out in a series of phased operations at a number of locations at any one time. Complex access scaffold will be erected and the work areas screened from the environment before the existing layers of paint, applied over the last 120 years, are removed using an abrasive blasting technique. Steelwork requiring maintenance will then be repaired before the new paint is applied in three protective layers, to preserve the steelwork for years to come.

ENDS

Enquiries to:
Tim Sharp
Tel: 020 7216 6884
www.balfourbeatty.com

Notes to Editors

1. Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering is the UK’s leading civil engineering company. It is currently working on major projects for the A3 bottleneck alleviation at Hindhead and the Devil’s Punchbowl, the widening of the M1 between Junctions 6a and 10 and the new Northern Ticket Hall as part of the development of King’s Cross Underground Station.
   
   Its regional business is working on many projects throughout the UK including the upgrade of the A1 between Bramham and Wetherby in Yorkshire, the infrastructure for East Midlands Parkway, a new park and ride train station to serve East Midlands Airport and the infrastructure for Phase 1 of the Ravenscraig Redevelopment in North Lanarkshire.
   
   
2. Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business, well-positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant long-term growth. We work in partnership with sophisticated customers who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise. Our skills are applied in appropriate combinations to meet individual customer need. Balfour Beatty’s 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.