Laing O’Rourke and Costain fired up for nuclear bonanza at Hinkley Point

UK builders today cheered the approval of Britain’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation, with the £16 billion project set to create thousands of engineering and construction jobs.

Two major British construction firms this morning announced contracts to help build the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset.

Laing O’Rourke confirmed that its joint venture with French firm Bouygues TP, BYLOR will partner with French energy giant EDF on the project, in a deal worth an estimated £2 billion.

Engineer Costain also announced that it will design and build the water cooling system for the new nuclear power station.

Laing O’Rourke chief executive Anna Stewart said: “This is a pivotal moment for the UK construction industry as we move forward with EDF towards mobilisation and the start of work on site.

“The development of Hinkley Point C in Somerset will become the single largest construction project in the UK, and we are hugely excited by the opportunity to showcase the skills and potential of our delivery teams and be at the forefront of a nuclear energy renaissance.”

Laing O’Rourke said the project would require over 4,000 staff and it would be initiating a training programme to meet demand.

Costain chief executive Andrew Wylie said of its cooling project: “We estimate that this contract will lead to the creation of hundreds of new jobs at Costain alone, including apprentices, specialist technical and engineering roles and programme management.”

Costain will design and construct three marine tunnels, totalling around 11km in length, to take cooling water from the Severn Estuary to the nuclear reactor.

* Balfour Beatty was given a major boost today as the construction firm won a £64 million contract to electrify Crossrail tracks.

Network Rail has chosen the FTSE 250 engineering and construction firm to electrify a 12.5-mile section of the Great Western main line.

Chief executive Andrew McNaughton said they were “delighted” to be continuing their long-term relationship with Network Rail. Work begins in December, with completion in late 2016.