HS2 Ltd confirms winner for prestigious £350m consultancy role

HS2

A CH2M-led joint venture has won the prestigious £350m delivery partner contract for phase one of HS2, the client has confirmed.

As first revealed by Building this month, HS2 Ltd has selected the CH2M/Atkins/Sener joint venture as the engineering delivery partner (EDP) for the £21.4bn first phase of the project.

The JV beat competition from two other heavyweight joint ventures - Bechtel/Jacobs/Idom Merebrook and WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff/Ramboll - to land the role, which is the largest consultancy role to be awarded to date by HS2.

According to market sources, the joint venture is split 50/40/10 between CH2M, Atkins and Sener respectively.

In a statement, HS2 said all three companies have “significant experience of driving project innovation and efficiency”, highlighting CH2M and Atkins’ work on the “challenging” Crossrail project, and Sener “bringing recent experience from Spain’s extensive high speed rail network.”

The EDP contract is valued at between £250m and £350m over the course of its 10-year duration.

It covers the whole of phase one construction, and will include

  • Supporting preparation for, and procurement of, the main civils contracts and subsequent work packages, including stations and railway systems
  • Managing support of the design stage and construction stages of the works
  • Providing project engineering and construction management
  • Providing technical assurance of design

HS2 Ltd infrastructure managing director Jim Crawford said he welcomed the JV’s appointment, and added that the client body is looking forward to “seeing HS2 benefiting from their considerable skills and experience of delivering world-class infrastructure on time and on budget.”

Commenting on his firm’s win, Sener railway manager, Jesús Planchuelo, said: “This is definitely one of the most relevant rail projects worldwide and Sener is very proud to be part of it, partnering with CH2M and Atkins.”

Transport minister Robert Goodwill said: “The Engineering Delivery Partner will play a key role in bringing HS2 to fruition and CH2M/Atkins/Sener bring clear expertise. 

“Today’s announcement means we are one step closer to getting spades in the ground next year for this transformational project.”

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