Carillion powers on with £400m Battersea contract
WOLVERHAMPTON construction and support services giant Carillion has been selected as the preferred bidder for the £400m Phase 1 redevelopment of Battersea Power Station.
The project is a mixed-use development comprising 866 apartments, including 11 penthouses, together with retail facilities, theatre space and business studios, in two blocks built on a podium with two levels of basement parking.
It forms part of the overall strategy to create a high-density, mixed-use development around the restored former Grade II power station. Main construction work for Phase 1 will start in the summer and is scheduled for completion in 2016.
The Battersea Power Station development site is owned by a Malaysian consortium of S P Setia, Sime Darby Property and Employees’ Provident Fund. The development is being managed by British firm Battersea Power Station Development Company.
The redevelopment project will be located within the area bounded by Battersea Power Station to the East, the main railway serving Victoria Station to the West and the river Thames to the North. The main block will vary in height from eight storeys at its southern end, rising to 18 storeys and then reducing to 12 storeys at its northern end. The second block will be eight storeys high. Extensive hard and soft landscaping is included as part of the Phase 1 works.
Carillion chief executive Richard Howson said: “We are delighted to have been selected as the preferred bidder for this prestigious project, which I believe reflects Carillion’s reputation for delivering high-quality, value for money projects.
“We look forward to working in partnership with the Battersea Power Station Development Company to deliver this iconic project that will make a major contribution to the transformation of this historic site.
“This takes the total value of new orders and probable orders for Carillion in 2013 to some £2.6bn and demonstrates the benefits of our strategy in construction services of focusing on national projects.”
Rob Tincknell, chief executive of Battersea Power Station Development Company said: “This will be one of the largest construction contracts to be awarded in recent history and, on behalf of the Battersea Power Station shareholders, we are delighted it will go to an award-winning British firm.
“The first phase of any redevelopment is an important statement of the qualities that will govern the entire project and for that reason we took a lot of time selecting the contractor.
“After a great deal of consideration, we believe Carillion is best placed to deliver the ambition, precision and rigour that people rightly expect from a scheme which will flank a building as famous and distinguished as Battersea Power Station.”
It has been suggested that over the course of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment 15,000 new jobs will be created.
