Argent and Carillion chosen to deliver Manchester’s £800m Airport City scheme

WOLVERHAMPTON construction and services giant Carillion and Birmingham developer Argent have been selected to deliver the £800m Airport City development adjacent to Manchester Airport.

The huge scheme, which will take 15 years to complete and create an estimated 16,000 jobs, has hit the headlines this morning because of the involvement of Chinese firm Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) in the project.

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) chose BCEG alongside Carillion and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) as its partners to deliver Airport City.

But in further good news for Midlands businesses, Birmingham-based regeneration specialist Argent – the firm behind the Brindleyplace development – has been chosen as development manager for the scheme via its Argent (Property Development) Services arm.

Airport City is one of the largest regeneration schemes in the UK since the Olympics redevelopment in East London.  It will provide 5m sq ft of development, including offices, hotels, advanced manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, with an estimated value of £800m. 

The consortium will start work immediately. Carillion expects to invest up to £12m of equity in the development as well as delivering up to £580m of construction work. 
 
Carillion chief executive Richard Howson said: ”We are delighted to have been selected as a member of the consortium that will deliver this prestigious development, which reflects our reputation for quality and reliability and our success in building strong long-term relationships with our partners and customers. 

“We look forward to working with MAG to deliver Airport City, which will further enhance Manchester’s position as one of the premier airports in the world.”

Chancellor George Osborne announced the partnership at Beijing Airport yesterday while on a trade mission.

The airport has been working on the bid process with commercial property agent CBRE all year.

Airport chief executive Charlie Cornish said: “We are delighted to confirm organisations of global standing as our joint venture partners. The inclusion of BCEG is significant because as a group, we have been keen to forge greater links with the Far East and this gives us an opportunity to strengthen vital business links with China.”

The airport has been pushing its links to China and is actively looking to the Far East for a direct airline service between Manchester and China.