Hochtief has been awarded an infrastructure maintenance contract in North Lanarkshire worth up to £450M.
The German-owned multinational has landed the role with North Lanarkshire Council that will see it carry out maintenance, inspections, fault rectification and winter services for roads, footpaths, bridges, underpasses and three reservoirs, from October.
It will also be responsible for street lighting and traffic management systems.
The local authority said it has has “an ambitious vision to re-invent North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest and visit”. It adds that through this “ambitious programme of regeneration and infrastructure investment, [it] aims to implement a vision that enables inclusive growth and prosperity that will significantly improve the quality of life and wellbeing of North Lanarkshire’s communities”.
North Lanarkshire Council convener of the local authority’s environment and climate change committee Helen Loughran welcomed the appointment and said: “We are driving transformational change across North Lanarkshire to regenerate our communities into vibrant, thriving, sustainable places.
“Key to that is place-based investment in essential infrastructure as well as maintaining our current facilities such as roads, bridges, streetlighting and other vital services.”
Hochtief has been appointed for an initial eight years, with potential to extend the deal for a maximum of 12 years.
It was selected ahead of two other companies, on a procurement process that was weighted 60% on quality and 40% on price.
Under its contract, the contractor has been set criteria to reduce the environmental impact of the infrastructure and to pay subcontractors promptly and fairly.
Hochtief Solutions managing director Peter Coenen said the company has built a strong reputation for sustainable and innovative highways maintenance services across Europe.
“We will use these strengths to deliver a tailored offering to meet the needs of North Lanarkshire Council. Innovation and digitalization are at the heart of our business model. As part of our smart city initiatives, we want to combine our international experience and innovation with the flexibility of local providers and achieve goals together,” he added.
North Lanarkshire is the fourth largest local authority in Scotland.
Contract coverage in numbers:
11.5Mm2 of carriageway,
4.5Mm2 of footpaths,
550 structures such as bridges, retaining walls and subways,
Three reservoirs – Strathclyde Loch, Broadwood Loch and Forrestburn Reservoir,
250 culverts and trash screens,
2.3Mm of street lighting cable,
more than 3,000 signs and 200 traffic management systems.
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