British construction firm Laing O'Rourke has been named the preferred bidder for a £200M contract to build the 410m turbine house and sluice gate structure as part of the £1 billion Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.
One of the project's main civil engineering and construction package tenders, this element of the project build will require up to 500 workers at peak construction, a substantial number of whom are expected to be local to South Wales. Concrete, reinforcing and other materials will also be sourced locally. Laing O'Rourke has named Arup as its lead design and engineering partner for the contract.
"Announcing that Laing O'Rourke is joining the team is a major step forward for the project," said Andrew McNaughton, Director of Engineering & Construction at Tidal Lagoon Power. "As preferred bidder, their contribution over the next few months alongside General Electric and Andritz Hydro will be invaluable in preparing for delivery on site in 2016."
Following advanced works and value engineering, a fixed price contract will be signed later this year for the main build. Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Plc has also run tenders for the project's marine works package and for a package to provide public realm ancillary works. The results of these tenders will be announced shortly.
Further tenders for the construction of a Turbine Assembly Plant in Wales, and for the lagoon's public realm and buildings work will proceed through the summer.
