Horizon Nuclear Power has appointed a US-Japanese consortium of Hitachi, Bechtel and Japanese engineer JGC to build the planned £14bn Wylfa power station in Anglesey. The joint venture is called Menter Newydd, meaning New Venture in Welsh. Horizon Nuclear Power was formed in 2009 to develop new nuclear power stations in the UK. It was acquired by Hitachi Ltd of Japan in November 2012. The company is developing plans to build at least 5,400MW of new nuclear power generation plant at Wylfa and at Oldbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire. Between them, the Menter Newydd partners have been involved in the delivery of more than 170 nuclear power stations. Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe draws on Hitachi’s 50 year history of boiling water reactor deployment, including four advanced boiling water reactors, the technology that will be built at Wylfa Newydd, whilst Bechtel last year completed construction of the first nuclear power station authorised to operate in the USA this century, at Watts Bar in Tennessee. Horizon CEO Duncan Hawthorne said: “This is an important step in any large, complex infrastructure project and it adds to Wylfa Newydd’s growing momentum. “The depth and breadth of expertise Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe, Bechtel and JGC bring to the Menter Newydd venture will help us ensure the timely delivery of our project, which will be vital for meeting the UK’s energy gap and boosting the local economy in North Wales for decades to come. We look forward to working with the team and continuing to make great strides with our plans.” Menter Newydd will be managed via a joint programme management office (JPMO), led by Hitachi’s Malcolm Twist. It will be based in Gloucester, with an increasing presence at Wylfa Newydd in coming years, Horizon said. Project director Malcolm Twist said: “This is a very strong team. All the partners are proven at the highest level, and I’m delighted we’ve established the balance of expertise to safely deliver for Horizon, on-cost and on-schedule. We expect to begin firming up relationships with our main subcontractors – many of them British – very soon.” Bechtel’s Mike Robinson, deputy project director for Menter Newydd, said: “This is an exciting project and a major milestone for low-carbon energy and future jobs across Wales and the UK.  As part of Menter Newydd, Bechtel will bring Wylfa Newydd safely into delivery to cost and budget in collaboration with local communities and our partners.” JGC’s Tsuyoshi Iwasaki, also deputy project director for Menter Newydd, added:  “We are pleased to be here on the Isle of Anglesey, working on a project which will contribute so much to local communities, as well as to the wider UK. We bring significant expertise, accumulated through our global experience of EPC delivery, and look forward to helping ensure the safe, on-time, on-cost delivery of Wylfa Newydd.” Hitachi-GE, which has been operating under a FEED contract to Horizon for more than three years, will continue to provide the UK ABWR technology, under subcontract to Menter Newydd. Site development work is also continuing and the UK ABWR remains on track to complete its regulatory generic design assessment by the end of 2017, Horizon said. Energy minister Andrea Leadsom indicated that the government remained committed to the development of nuclear power, despite the apparent slow progress being made on the various projects in the works.  “I am pleased to see that Wylfa Newydd in Wales is progressing,” she said. “We have to replace our ageing energy infrastructure and new nuclear is an essential part of our plan to power the country now and for the next generation. “Keeping the lights on is non-negotiable, and new nuclear is the only proven low carbon technology that can provide clean, continuous power, irrespective of whether the wind is blowing and the sun is shining.” Suppliers interested in any aspect of Menter Newydd scope are advised to register details at www.hitachi-hgne.co.uk.       This article was published on 20 May 2016 (last updated on 20 May 2016). Source link

Latest workload survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows growth continuing to soften as EU uncertainty delays investment. Private commercial and industrial sectors saw the most significant slowdown in the second quarter of 2016, RICS members report. House-building has also slowed, it said. Workloads and employment are projected to continue growing but more slowly than previously anticipated. RICS said that a positive net balance of 17% of respondents reported a rise in activity over the previous three months compared with 28% in the first quarter. For the second successive quarter, the biggest constraint on output according to respondents is finance, with more than two-thirds of respondents highlighting this as the principal challenge. Planning and regulatory delays also remain a key issue, with 60% of respondents citing that these are constraining growth. Despite the slowdown in activity, skills shortages remain a problem with 56% reporting that a lack of appropriately skilled labour was a constraint on growth. Bricklayers and quantity surveyors remain in particularly short supply with 59% and 57% of respondents citing difficulties in these areas. On average, contributors foresee their workloads increasing by 1% over the coming 12 months, down from the 2.8% growth predicted three months ago. Expectations for employment growth have also moderated significantly with a rise of 0.6% anticipated, down from 2% in the previous quarter. However, numerous surveyors said that the EU referendum made it difficult or impossible to predict future workloads. “Due to the EU referendum result, we have entered a significant period of uncertainty. It is too early to estimate or forecast with confidence what impact Brexit will have on construction and when any effect will be felt,” said William Waller of Arcadis. “Brexit is likely to be biggest factor going forward which will make forecasting and business planning even more challenging,” said David Holmes of Carillion. “The unstable political situation following the referendum will undoubtedly have an effect over the next few years,” said consultant QS Harry Davies. “Let’s wait to see the impact, but we anticipate surge in labour and material costs impacting ability to complete existing jobs,” said Roger Arnold of Martin Arnold Ltd. Stephen Friend of Uttlesford District Council was more certain, however. “Leaving the EU will slow a lot of private industrial and housing activity for at least three years,” he said. RICS head of UK policy Jeremy Blackburn said: “As ministers move to lay out a timeline and ambition for negotiating Brexit, construction will need clarity particularly on the nature of our future access to the EU single market for capital, materials and labour.” Source: RICS UK Construction Market Survey Q2 2016             Further Images This article was published on 28 Jul 2016 (last updated on 28 Jul 2016). Source link

23 July 2016 – by Alexander Peace The London office market saw one of its worst quarters for seven years in the run up to the referendum as tenants shied away from taking large spaces, EGi research has found. For the first time since 2009 , there were no deals of more than 100,000 sq ft completed in a quarter, only three above 50,000 sq ft – the lowest since 2011 – and only one above 80,000 sq ft. According to London Office Markets Analysis, just 2m sq ft was let overall in Q2, a 44% decline on Q2 2015, and a 34.1% fall on Q1 this year. David Hanrahan, co-head of London offices at Colliers International, said: “With that decision hanging out there, a lot of people were waiting to see the outcome. “If you did not have to, you did not make a decision.” All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. Q2 take-up in the City market fell by 52% year-on-year and by 32% in the West End. Stephen Down, head of central London at Savills, said: “There has been a slowdown in the past 12 months, as the cycle has matured, which has been exaggerated by the lead up to the referendum. “The vote coincided with a slow point in the year, and I expect this will exaggerate the take-up levels in Q3.” Investment volumes continued to decline during the period. Some £3.3bn was spent on London offices in the second quarter, 31% less than in the same period last year, and a two-year low. In the first six months of the year, investment levels across London have totalled £6.8bn, compared with £9.7bn in H1 2015. Source link

​Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has opened prequalification to seek a contractor to build a new bus station for Wigan. The new bus station will be built on the site of the current one, to provide a new gateway to the town, with improved facilities to encourage bus travel. Councillor Andrew Fender, chair of the TfGM committee, said:  “We’re excited to open prequalification to potential tenderers. This is a fantastic £15.7m project to improve Wigan bus station. We aim to provide a better waiting environment, improved facilities for passengers and a more modern gateway to the town for both residents and visitors.” The development is being supported by central government through the Greater Manchester Local Growth Deal Programme. Planning approval for the new bus station was given in April 2016 and construction is expected to start in June 2017 with an anticipated 18-month construction period. The estimated value of the main construction contract is £9m. TfGM has already built new transport interchanges in Wythenshawe, Altrincham and Rochdale with a new interchange in Bolton under construction. Electronic access to the pre-qualification information and requests to participate in the tender process is at http://procontract.due-north.com/register until 5th September 2016.       Further Images This article was published on 10 Aug 2016 (last updated on 10 Aug 2016). Source link