HS2: Bechtel exits £1.65bn Euston race in bidding shake-up
23 March, 2018 By Jack Simpson
Full screen HS2: Bechtel exits £1.65bn Euston race in bidding shake-up
Exclusive: Bechtel has pulled out of the running to deliver the £1.65bn redevelopment of Euston station and will now bid for the Old Oak Common Station alongside Morgan Sindall, Construction News can reveal.
HS2 has confirmed Bechtel's decision to end its interest in the Euston deal so it can focus solely on winning the £1.3bn Old Oak Common contract.
Bechtel's bid for Old Oak Common will be with the support of Morgan Sindall, which Bechtel is expected to sign a joint venture partnership with in the coming weeks.
The news comes as the Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial JV looks set to add US engineering giant Fluor to its bid team.
CN has learned the JV will add Fluor to its ranks in a move to strengthen its bids for Euston and Old Oak Common.
The American firm has a global turnover of nearly $20bn and is currently working on UK projects such as the decommissioning of 12 Magnox sites across the country.
It also bid unsuccessfully for the HS2 phase one civils contracts alongside Spanish firm Sacyr.
CN speaks exclusively to HS2 boss
Mark Thurston gives his first interview as HS2 chief executive , discussing conflicts of interest, the redundancy payment scandal and what he wants to see from contractors.
HS2 told Construction Ne ws Bechtel always had the intention to bid for just one of the deals, and has now decided to pursue Old Oak.
Under HS2 rules, companies can bid for both London stations deals but will only be able to win one.
HS2 said it had also been notified of Bechtel's intention to team up with Morgan Sindall and would now carry out due diligence on the firm.
Morgan Sindall is currently working alongside Bam Nuttall and Ferrovial as part of the Fusion JV, which won the £300m enabling contract for the central section of HS2's first phase.
Bechtel's decision leaves just three joint ventures left in the race for Euston: Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial / Fluor, Costain / Skanska, and Mace / Dragados.
Bechtel is the second bidder to pull out of bidding for Euston after CN revealed last month Laing O'Rourke's JV with Canary Wharf Contractors and MTR would be ending its interest in the £1.65bn deal.
Laing O'Rourke told CN the JV would have offered HS2 a “turn-key solution” for Euston that depended on Canary Wharf and MTR winning the Euston master developer role. However, the EDP contract was awarded to Lendlease .
Bechtel will battle for the £1.3bn Old Oak contract against Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial / Fluor, Mace / Dragados, and Balfour Beatty / Vinci / Systra.
Last year Bechtel won the £170m HS2 phase two development partner role after replacing CH2M, which withdrew from the contract after conflict of interest allegations.
The contractor also unsuccessfully bid for the £616m Brackley to Long Itchington Wood civils contract last year.
The firm's station work includes as contractor on the £36m of Vauxhall station revamp, and as project manager on the £400m redevelopment of Reading station and the £800m redevelopment of St Pancras station for HS1.
Fluor has global high-speed rail and stations experience, and has recently been picked to develop a new 390km high speed rail line from Dallas and Houston, including three new stations.
In October 2017 it was named as part of the consortium the $1bn Boston Green Line rail extension alongside Balfour Beatty, which would see it deliver seven new stations on the line.
The winner of the £1.65bn Euston redevelopment contract will deliver 11 new platforms at the London station, which will triple its capacity.
The project will be delivered in two phases, with stage A commencing in 2019 and expected to cost £850m, while stage B1 will take place between 2026 and 2033 and is set to cost £800m.
HS2 declined to comment on whether Fluor had joined the Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial JV. Bechtel declined to comment. CN has contacted Ferrovial for comment.