Team picked for £1bn Royal Albert Dock project

A clutch of consultants have won roles on the £1bn transformation of Royal Albert Dock in east London.

AKT II has been appointed structural engineer, Hilson Moran mechanical engineer and energy consultant, and WT Partnership quantity surveyor. CBRE will be planning consultant, Pinsent Masons will act as lawyer and URS will be the environmental impact assessor.

The consultants join development manager Stanhope and masterplanner Farrells on the project team working up plans for the 35-acre site. Chinese developer ABP China agreed a deal with the Greater London Authority (GLA) last month to transform the largely derelict area into a business district focused on attracting Asian businesses to the capital.

Paul Scott, director of AKTII, said by attracting Chinese business to the UK, the development could be a catalyst for further Chinese investment in projects.

He said: “This is a very unique development. The mix of ABP and Stanhope is key to the vision and the success of the development.

“We’re aiming to submit planning applications in the first quarter. They definitely seem to want to get on very quickly.”

Max Farrell, operations director at architect Farrells, said the scheme was a “trailblazer” for Chinese investors, and the firm was pleased to win the job.

“We opened our Hong Kong office 21 years ago, and then expanded to mainland China. We have a reputation in China and now this is starting to be a positive thing for the UK office as well.”

ABP China has committed to developing a minimum of the 600,000ft2 first phase.

The GLA said last month that there was already “strong interest” in office space from Chinese companies, particularly banks.

The scheme will create 20,000 jobs and will be worth £6bn to the UK economy, the GLA estimates.

Subject to gaining planning permission, the first phase is due to open in 2017, with work on the entire scheme targeted to be completed by 2021/22.