Bechtel bid wins Crossrail project

The Bechtel, Halcrow and Systra consortium has been chosen as project delivery partner for London's Crossrail project.

According to Crossrail the UK£ 400 million (€ 439 million) contract brings the creation of thousands of jobs in the UK capital another step closer.

As project delivery partner, the consortium will be responsible for overseeing delivery of the core central tunnelled section of the Crossrail route and will also manage the design process.

The team will also build six new stations and integrate Crossrail with London's existing transport systems.

In line with European procurement requirements, there now follows a minimum ten day "stand-still period" before the award of contract can be confirmed.

Speaking on behalf of the three companies, Cliff Mumm, senior vice president of Bechtel said, "This is one of the most important and exciting construction projects in the world. We believe that we offer a proven, tried and tested team, ready to deliver for London."

Last month Crossrail announced Transcend, the AECOM, CH2M Hill and Nichols Group joint venture as its programme partner, with the role of safely delivering the overall programme in time, to the desired standard and within budget.

Crossrail will be Europe's largest construction project and will add +10% to the capacity of public transport in the capital. When completed in 2017 Crossrail will be the biggest addition to the transport network in London and the South East for 50 years.

The railway will run 118 km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21 km tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It will bring an additional 1.5 million people within 60 minutes commuting distance of London's key business districts.

Construction of the new Isle of Dogs Crossrail station will begin later this year, as will the redevelopment of Tottenham Court Road tube station.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said, "This is the latest significant step towards the delivery of Crossrail and demonstrates its genuine momentum. It comes at a particularly pertinent time, as I believe the project will help London through the recession.

"At the height of construction, up to 14000 people will be employed and we anticipate that the vast majority of the jobs required to fulfil these contracts will be created in London and the UK, which can only be good news for the capital."

Transport Minister, Andrew Adonis, said, "Crossrail is vital to the economic future of London and the UK and is certainly the most important transport project to be delivered in the UK during the next decade.

"Its construction and operation will contribute billions to the economy, create thousands of additional jobs and provide vastly important transport connections between Heathrow, central London, Docklands and the South East," he added.

Crossrail will later award a series of contracts for the actual construction of the railway.