US-based construction and civil engineering company Bechtel has been awarded a deal for the delivery of the £170m HS2 Phase IIb project.

CH2M had previously secured the development contract but withdrew from the deal, after claiming that prolonged delays and project uncertainty risks critical national infrastructure, and would increase costs to both the company and UK taxpayers.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

A HS2 spokesperson told Rail Technology Magazine: “HS2 can confirm that Bechtel are being taken forward to the next stage of the IIb Development Partner procurement process.

“The bidder now enters the standstill period, allowed for under the process prior to contract award.”

Additionally, the national grassroots campaign against the new railway known as Stop HS2 has called for an independent inquiry to be carried out into development contracts before they are awarded.

See Also:

"There simply must be an inquiry into how that contract was awarded before CH2M are allowed to divvy up the cake to the rest of construction cartel."

Stop HS2 campaign manager Joe Rukin said: “CH2M walked away from one contract due to conflict of interest, hoping no-one would notice they still have the contract that gives them a massive say in where £8.6bn of Phase 1 construction contracts go.”

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“There simply must be an inquiry into how that contract was awarded before CH2M are allowed to divvy up the cake to the rest of construction cartel, who are the ones who lobbied for the ‘need’ to build HS2 in the first place.”

HS2 phase IIb is scheduled to run from Crewe to Manchester, as well as from the West Midlands to Leeds via Sheffield.

The project will link eight of the UK's major cities and free up extra capacity for local passenger and freight services on the existing network, in addition to creating approximately 25,000 jobs.