Heathrow begins hunt for four off-site hubs

Heathrow has begun its search for four off-site hubs across the UK that will help it deliver its £16bn expansion plans.

The airport’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye confirmed the client would make extensive use of off-site construction on the project to “make expansion more affordable and enivronmentally friendly and give Britain a lasting legacy of expertise that it can sell around the world”.

Building revealed in February that Heathrow wants to reduce the site workforce it needs to expand by almost a third to under 10,000 a day - although the use of the hubs across the UK should create more jobs overall.

The airport is now seeking bids from areas interested in becoming home to one of the four logistic hubs, where off-site manufactured components such as roof panels and M&E units will be brought to or assembled ready for transport to the South-west London airport.

Research by consultant WPI Economics indicates the off-site sector could result in a £15bn boost for the construction sector outside London by 2020 alone.

Heathrow has invited interested applicants to visit https://procurement.heathrow.com to register their interest and complete an expression of interest questionnaire before 31 July 2017. A shortlist of sites will be announced later in the year.