11
December 2010 | Lindsay Clark
The Crossrail partnership
has awarded the tunnelling contracts for Europe’s largest
infrastructure project.
The
partnership between the Department forTransport and Transport for London – which is responsible for
building a new rail line through London linking Maidenhead in Berkshire to Shenfield
in Essex – said the competitive bidding process had resulted in contract awards
of £1.25 billion for three separate engineering joint ventures.
The
tender has contributed to a reduction in Crossrail’s overall estimated cost of
around £1 billion.
The
contracts will create 18km of twin-bore tunnels underneath central London.
Tunnelling activity will commence in late 2011, with the first tunnel-boring
machine set to start its journey in spring 2012.
The
contracts awarded this week are the first of nearly 30 major contracts to be
let by Crossrail over the next 18 months. A further series of tunnelling contracts
will be awarded in 2011, including the Thames Tunnel between Plumstead and
Woolwich, and remaining contracts for tunnel portals and station platform
tunnels.
Rob
Holden, Crossrail chief executive, said in a statement: “Significant
competition in the construction industry for Crossrail work has delivered
highly competitive bids. Over £1 billion in savings to Crossrail’s construction
costs have been identified to date, in part due to a more efficient
construction timetable, and these contract awards will help secure these
savings.”
The
four contract awards are as follows:
• Western Running Tunnels
(Royal Oak to Farringdon)
Joint venture comprising: BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman, Kier Construction
• Eastern Running Tunnels
(Limmo Peninsula to Farringdon; Limmo Peninsula to Victoria Dock; Stepney Green
to Pudding Mill Lane)
Joint venture comprising: Dragados, John Sisk & Son
• Early Access Shafts and
Sprayed Concrete Lining Works for Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road station
tunnels
Joint
venture comprising: BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman, Kier Construction
• Early Access Shafts and
Sprayed Concrete Lining Works for Whitechapel and Liverpool Street station
tunnels
Joint
venture comprising: Alpine BeMo Tunnelling, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering,
Morgan Sindall (Infrastructure), VINCI Construction Grands Projects.
The
contracts are subject to the 10-day standstill period required by European
procurement regulations before final award.
