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Balfour Beatty awarded major £170m Heathrow improvement contract

Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has been awarded a nine-figure contract that will see it deliver a package of improvement works at Heathrow Airport.

Announced to the Stock Exchange this morning, the £170m contract will see Balfour upgrade baggage screen and handling systems at the airport’s easter baggage hall after it was awarded the work through the Heathrow Airport Limited Delivery Instigator Framework.

The outsourcing giant says it will use the latest ‘building information modelling techniques’ to define the design and grapple with the logistics of the project, which will be carried out during regular airport operations.

The contractor has snared a number of big contracts at the airport, including £180m of infrastructure works and a £590m contract to support upgrades at Terminal 2, both in 2014.

Touching upon their strong relationship with the South East airport, Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group Chief Executive, said: “This contract award is testament to the strength of the partnership we have developed with Heathrow Airport Limited over the last 17 years.

“The UK aviation sector is a core market for Balfour Beatty and we are delighted to play our part in helping Heathrow maintain its position as a leading travel hub and supporting local employment.”

Heathrow itself is currently in the midst of a bitter political tussle to get a new third runway approved at the airport after a decision on whether to reward an expansion to the airport or rival Gatwick was delayed yet again until a new Prime Minister is in place.