There is a lot of infrastructure activity taking place across the UK at the moment, and even more in the pipeline.
Stay up to date with all the latest major programme updates with our bi-annual review.
I’d love to hear of any project updates you have. Let me know what times work for a 15-minute phone call or alternatively you can book a call in my diary here.
Rail
HS2
- New CEO Mark Wild announced he is preparing for “fundamental reset” of the programme to address its serious cost challenges. The review will provide renewed certainty to government over cost and schedule.
- The Rail systems contracts were finally awarded earlier in the year. The £3bn worth of contracts for the design and installation of its rail systems were long overdue, with the bidding process having started many years ago.
The contract allocations can be found HERE.
- The process of creating a mass transit system to transport passengers to other rail interchanges has taken a step forward with the shortlisting of two contractors. French firm Poma S.A.S and the UK arm of Austrian outfit Doppelmayr will compete for two deals to design, install and operate the automated people mover in the West Midlands.
The government have dispelled rumours that the decision to cancel Phase 2a could be reversed. However land purchased between Lichfield, Staffordshire and High Legh in Cheshire on the now scrapped Phase 2a route will be ringfenced until the Government has considered alternative options.
- The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, approved the extension of HS2 into Euston station as part of her budget announcement at the end of October. Following this announcement, Lord Hendy confirmed that Euston Station will only have six platforms as opposed to the original 11.
TransPennine Route Upgrade
East
The Secretary of State for Transport approved a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO), which will grant the programme permission to deliver a number of major upgrades to the railway between Leeds and Micklefield.
The successful confirmation of the TWAO means TRU can press ahead with plans for this section of the route.
West
- The TRUWest Alliance of BAM, Arup, Amey, and Network Rail signed the contract, at the end of last year, to deliver the next phase of the TRUWest project over three and a half years completing in 2028. This builds on the alliance’s success on TRUWest over the past seven years.
- AtkinsRéalis has been appointed to lead design integration for the 18-mile leg from Stalybridge to Huddersfield.
East West Rail
An update on the project was announced following Chancellor Rachel Reeves renewed commitments to the project in the Budget. The update includes plans for partial electrification of the route, which will link Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Cambridge.
Network Rail CP7
There have been concerns raised from suppliers that Network Rail has been slow to start filtering projects through to it’s CP7 suppliers.
West Yorkshire Metro
Have appointed Mike Birch as Mass Transit Director to lead the development and delivery of the £2.5bn mass transit programme across West Yorkshire.
DART+
- AtkinsRéalis has been appointed by Iarnród Eireann (Irish Rail) as a multi-disciplinary consultant to provide design services for the DART+ West and South West rail improvement projects.
- An Bord Pleanála has approved the Railway Order for the DART+ South West project. This will extend the electrified DART network from Hazelhatch & Celbridge to Heuston Station to South Dublin via the Phoenix Park Tunnel.
- The next steps involve beginning the procurement process for construction contracts. Invitations to tender are expected to go out later this year.
- Construction is expected to start in 2026, subject to the allocation of funding.
MetroLink
A decision from An Bord Pleanála on the Railway Order has been delayed, with the results expected in October.
Water
Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP)
A consortium comprising Strabag and Equitix has been named the preferred bidder for United Utilities' Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP).
This significant initiative aimed at enhancing drinking water supplies across Cumbria, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester is now expected to cost between £2.5bn to £2.9bn. The formal award of the contract is expected in the first half of 2025.
Thames Tideway
London's new £5bn super sewer has been fully connected after 10 years of construction work. The last of the 21 connections of the Thames Tideway Tunnel was made to the city's Victorian sewage system.
Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell said: "This is another significant step forward – with this final connection complete, the super sewer is fully up and running and protecting the Thames."
Reservoir Projects
- Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has backed plans for new reservoirs to be built near Abingdon and in the Fens near Cambridge. These will be among nine new reservoirs built as the Government has agreed for water companies to invest £7.9 billion to improve infrastructure.
- Anglian Water has started market engagement for £5bn of works for its Fens and Lincolnshire reservoir projects.
Highways
Lower Thames Crossing
- A decision on whether to grant a development consent order (DCO) application for the major road and tunnel scheme between Kent and Essex is still pending, with a deadline of 23 May 2025 for the government’s decision.
- LTC have outlined potential different private financing options available to bring the project forward.
M3 Upgrade
The scheme was granted ministerial approval last week, despite site preparation work starting five months ago.
The job is being carried-out by a joint venture of VolkerFitzpatrick and Balfour Beatty and will be instrumental in unlocking sites for 2,000 new homes around Winchester.
M6
National Highways announced a significant refurbishment programme for eight bridge deck structures along a 10km stretch of the M6. The refurbishment will be carried out by delivery partners Kier, Aecom, RPS and Tony Gee.
Preparatory work for the project is set to begin this year, with main construction expected to start in 2027. It is earmarked for completion in winter 2030-31.
Energy
Hinkley Point C
- Construction reached an important milestone with the installation of the UK’s first nuclear reactor in over 30 years.
- It is currently estimated that the site will be completed in 2029 at the earliest, while the total predicted cost has more than doubled to £46bn.
Sizewell C
- It now expected that Final Investment Decision (FID) will be made at the conclusion of the government Spending Review in the spring.
- Progress is already underway at the site, including extensive groundworks archaeology and earthworks.
Great Grid Upgrade
- National Grid has awarded two segments of a £59bn framework aimed at bolstering the supply chain for high voltage direct current (HVDC) projects across the country.
Six HVDC cable manufacturers will share approximately £21.3bn under the framework agreement. Those awarded contracts include Hellenic Cables & Jan De Nul Consortium, LS Cable & System, NKT Cables, Prysmian Group, Sumitomo Electric and Taihan Cable & Solution.
Additionally, four suppliers have been selected for the HVDC converter framework, which is valued at around £24.6bn. The successful bidders in this category are GE Vernova, Hitachi Energy, Mitsubishi Electric and Siemens Energy.
Eastern Green Link 1
Murphy has started work on its first package on the vast £2.5bn Eastern Green Link 1. Murphy is one of the main works contractors alongside Metlen, GE Vernova and Prysmian.
Work is expected to complete in March 2028.
Eastern Green Link 2
- Twin groundbreaking ceremonies on either side of the project marked the beginning of works on EGL2, subsea transmission cable connecting Peterhead in Scotland to Drax in England.
- Balfour Beatty has been awarded a contract by Prysmian to install 69km of high voltage direct current (HVDC) land cables for the £4.3bn electricity superhighway Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2).
Scottish Power East Anglia Three Offshore Wind Farm
Seaway7 is scheduled to start installing wind turbine foundations at the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm site at the beginning of April.
The installation of wind turbine foundations is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
RWE Sofia Offshore Wind Farm
The project has reached several major milestones in the construction of foundations and onshore and offshore electrical systems and is now preparing for the first turbine installation expected in the coming weeks.
Offshore Wind Auction
A total of nine offshore wind farm contracts have been awarded by the government in September after last year's auction failed to attract any bidders at all.
The contracts are part of a wider slate of green energy projects that also include tidal and solar power. The full list can be found HERE.
Carbon Capture Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power)
The joint venture made up of BP and Equinor, have awarded contracts for the £4bn power station and carbon-capture scheme.
Balfour Beatty was named as the consortium’s construction partner for its onshore power, capture and compression contract package. Costain, meanwhile, was named as the contractor on an onshore carbon dioxide-gathering system and gas-connection package.
A full list of the contracts awarded can be found HERE.
Construction is now set to start from mid-2025
UKAEA – Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)
UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) have announced the shortlisted organisations competing to become Engineering Partner and Construction Partner for STEP, the UK’s world-leading programme to design and build a prototype fusion energy plant at the West Burton site in Nottinghamshire.
The full list of awards can be found HERE.
SGN – Fife100
Construction is now complete on the world’s first domestic hydrogen gas network in Levenmouth, Fife. Residents living in the area will now have the option of joining Scotland’s first green hydrogen community by signing up to our H100 Fife trial.
SMR
Great British Nuclear (GBN) has entered the final stage of the UK’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) selection process and is on track to make final decisions imminently.
An Invitation to Submit Final Tender (ISFT) has been issued to the four remaining vendors, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International LLC, Holtec Britain Ltd, Rolls-Royce SMR Limited, and Westinghouse Electric Company UK Ltd.
Aviation
Gatwick Airport
- Mace has been confirmed as main contractor for the planned £140m extension to Pier 6 at London Gatwick Airport. The extension will add a further eight aircraft gates to the existing passenger building, which previously was built with 11 gates connected by the elevated airbridge built by Mace back in 2005.
Enabling works are being carried out by contractor PJ Hegarty ahead of Mace starting main building work. - The Government has given its backing for a second runway. The airport has proposed they move their northern run-off strip by 12 metres.
London City Airport
£500m expansion cleared by the government. The project looks to increase the airport’s capacity from 6.5 million people annually to 9 million.
Stansted Airport
Public consultation for the £600m expansion programme closed earlier this month. Next steps will be to submit the planning application in the next few months.
Heathrow Airport
- In January the government said it would support proposals for a third runway at Heathrow airport.
- Heathrow are expected to share proposals for a third runway with the government by summer and has the aim of securing planning permission before the end of this Parliament.
Buildings
New Hospitals Programme
- The government has confirmed all projects in the New Hospital Programme will be built – but it will take a decade or more longer.
Following a review, funding and a “realistic timetable” has been announced to put the New Hospital Programme on track to deliver all of its hospital projects.
The new plan will be backed with £15bn of new investment over consecutive five-year waves, averaging £3bn a year.
- A joint venture between Mace and Turner & Townsend has been picked as the Programme Delivery Partner for the £37bn New Hospital Programme.
Restoration & Renewal Programme
- Earlier this year R&R hosted a series of market engagement roundtables on how to deliver heritage restoration projects and how to effectively work with the individual specialist craftspeople, SMEs, and large construction companies needed for restoring the historic Palace of Westminster.
- Costed proposals for three delivery options, are expected to be published later this year.
Ministry of Justice Prison Capacity Strategy
Wates have been appointed to deliver a £300m expansion programme at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk. Mace, Pick Everard, Baker Hicks, Gleeds and Prism Offsite Manufacturing are also involved in the scheme.
The project includes creating 741 category C prison places in three four-storey houseblocks using modern methods of construction (MMC).
I’d love to hear of any project updates you have. Let me know what times work for a 15-minute phone call or alternatively you can book a call in my diary here.
