French contractor Bouygues has inked a deal to deliver Battersea Power Station's third redevelopment phase, making the contractor the linchpin in the UK's biggest ever building contract. High bidders Bouygues beat shortlisted competition Balfour Beatty to land the £1bn+ construction contract. The French company will follow up the work of Carillion's phase one, Sanska's phase two and the enabling work taken on by Mace.
Transformation station
The third phase of the radical redevelopment of the iconic Battersea Power Station will see Bouygues build a “gateway” to the development, which will involve building an extension to the Northern Line underground service, erecting an entirely new “wave shaped” 17 story building featuring one of London's biggest ever roof gardens, along with completing further construction on the site to create 688 homes, alongside dozens of shops, restaurants, a gym, cafés, restaurants and bars.
Three is the magic number
Phase three of the project is an absolutely critical and a very varied, complex part of bringing the entire redevelopment to fruition. Previous phases were undertaken for £400m (Carillion, phase one) and £600m (Sanska, phase two) respectively, making Bourgues's third and final phase far and away the most costly and significant to the overall project.
Ready for the challenge
Despite bidding more than rivals Balfour Beatty, it was Bouygues who walked away with the deal. According to Battersea Power Station Development Company CEO, Rob Tincknell, it was the contractor's “impressive approach” and ability to overcome any issues presented by the “current London market”, which led them to claim the £1bn+ contract. Tincknell is confident that the French contractor will help ensure “the best cost and programme outcomes.”
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