HS2

Major £12bn HS2 main engineering contracts shortlist revealed

HS2 Ltd has today announced a shortlist of nine bidders in the race to win at least one of seven main civil engineering contracts worth between £7.1bn and £11.8bn, launched in September last year during the chancellor’s visit to China.

The list, mostly made up of consortia, features some of the biggest names in both the national and international rail sector – including some joint ventures currently shortlisted for civil enabling works worth £900m.

Contracts account for phase 1 engineering works and are split into seven packages. Shortlisted bidders will be invited to tender for a maximum of four packages and, in order to “maintain competition and resilience of the project”, will only be awarded a maximum of two packages.

The shortlist is as follows:

• Align JV: BouyguesTravaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, Volkerfitzpatrick
• ASL: Acciona Infraestructuras, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, Lagan Construction Group Ltd
• Balfour Beatty Vinci BeMO (BBV JV): Balfour Beatty Group Ltd, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Vinci Construction UK Ltd, Vinci Construction Terrassement SAS, BeMO Tunnelling GmbH
• Catalyst: Bechtel Ltd
• Carillion-Eiffage-Kier (CEK) JV: Carillion Construction Ltd, Eiffage Genie Civil S.A. (previously Eiffage TP), Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Ltd
• Fusion: Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure Ltd (previously Morgan Sindall plc), BAM Nuttall Ltd, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Ltd
• LFM: Laing O’Rourke Construction Ltd, FCC Construccion S.A., J. Murphy and Sons Ltd
• Momentum Infrastructure: Dragados S.A., HOCHTIEF Infrastructure GmbH, GallifordTry Infrastructure Ltd
• SCS: Skanska Construction (UK) Ltd, Costain Ltd, STRABAG AG

Most tenderers are bidding for the maximum allowance of four packages, although Catalyst and ASL are just bidding for one each.

The seven packages are divided as follows:

• Lot S1: Euston Tunnels and approaches (£600m-£900m), for which CEK JV, Fusion, Momentum Infrastructure and SCS are bidding
• Lot S2: Northolt Tunnels (£850m - £1.4bn), for which Align JV, CEK JV, Fusion and SCS are bidding
• Lot C1: Chiltern Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct (£800m - £1.3bn), for which Align JV, BBV, LFM and SCS are bidding
• Lot C2: North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley (£800m - £1.3bn), for which Align JV, BBV, CEK JV and Momentum Infrastructure are bidding
• Lot C3: Brackley to Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel South Portal (£600m - £900m), for which Align JV, ASL, Catalyst, CEK JV and Momentum Infrastructure are bidding
• Lot N1: Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel to Delta Junction/Birmingham Spur (£900m-£1.5bn), for which BBV, Fusion, LFM and SCS are bidding
• Lot N2: Delta Junction to West Coast Main Line Tie-in (£800m - £1.3bn), for which BBV, Fusion, LFM and Momentum Infrastructure are bidding

The engineering contracts, covering the 140-mile stretch from London to Birmingham, are expected to be signed in 2017, with work starting on site one year later.

The firms that “deliver the best results in terms of value and efficiency” will be eligible to bid for more work on the extra 40-mile stretch between Birmingham and Crewe, due to open in 2027.

Also today, HS2 Ltd kick-started the formal tendering process for the civil enabling works worth £900, for which a shortlist was announced late last year. Chosen companies will be responsible for preparing sites for the start of construction and carrying out pre-construction activity, such as utilities diversions and archaeological surveys.

Contract award for these works is expected later this year.

To finalise the string of announcements ahead of today’s final reading of the HS2 Bill before it moves on to the Lords, the company also launched the procurement for nearly two million native trees for advance planting, and up to five million more to be bought in the next 10 years, to “blend the route into the surrounding landscape”.

Contracts for this are expected to be signed in the autumn, making sure trees can grow and be ready for planting throughout the construction period.

Today’s major advancements also comes just a few days after HS2 finally named its engineering delivery partner for phase 1 – a team made up of Atkins, CH2m and SENER.

Additional work covering stations and railway systems will be announced over the course of next year.