Contractor warned staff they could have faced redundancy if it failed to secure ten-year schools contract
Building giant Skanska has been chosen as the preferred-bidder for the Essex Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
The job will see Skanska developing, constructing and maintaining three schools for Essex County Council, with financial close for the contract is expected later this year. Work is due to start in 2011.
News of the decision will come as a relief to staff at the contractor who had previously been warned they could face redundancy if the bid was unsuccessful.
Last month Skanska UK president Mike Putnam send an internal memo to staff which said: “We are currently waiting on the outcome of a number of bids, including Essex schools and Karolinska [PPP hospital in Sweden], and are actively looking to secure new work. Regrettably, if we are not successful at winning additional work in the short term, a number of roles will become redundant during 2010.”
The private finance initiative (PFI) project initially comprises three new schools to be developed in cooperation with the local authorities within the Essex Local Education Partnership of which the Skanska-RM consortium holds an 80 percent share.
The partnership covers a total period of ten years and further schools will be developed in future phases.
