A joint venture between CH2M Hill, Atkins and Sener has been announced as the engineering delivery partner for Phase 1 of the high speed line project, in a £350m contract over ten years. The JV is split 50/40/10 respectively between the companies.
The joint venture saw off competition from the likes of a Bechtel-Jacobs-Idom Merebrook joint venture and another joint venture of WSP-Parsons Brinckerhoff-Ramboll.
HS2 said of the contract award in a statement that all three companies in the chosen joint venture have “significant experience of driving project innovation and efficiency.” They highlighted CH2M Hill and Atkins’ work on Crossrail in what they described as a “challenging” project, and said of Sener that the company would bring in “recent experience from Spain’s extensive high speed rail network.”
The contract will see the consultancies providing support for the design and construction stages of the works. They will provide engineering and construction management, technical design assurance, and they will also support the procurement of subsequent work packages, including thr main civils contracts for the London to Birmingham stage of the route.
Jim Crawford, infrastructure manager of HS2 Ltd, said he welcomed the appointment of the joint venture and added that the client body is looking forward to seeing HS2 benefit from their considerable skills and experience of delivering world-class infrastructure on time and on budget.
Phase One construction is due to commence next year.
