NO UK Business Involvement In Edinburgh Tram Line Development

BBS, a group comprising Bilfinger Berger and Siemens Group, has been chosen by council-owned Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (Tie) for the £220million contract to carry out the design, construction and maintenance of the Scottish capital’s new light rail network. This follows the announcement that Spanish firm CAF will supply the trams for the scheme.

The Edinburgh trams infrastructure contract is one of the largest construction contracts in the UK and means there will be no UK business involvement in the project, although TIE has given assurances that an estimated 1,000 jobs in Scotland will be created during the construction and more than 900 after it has been completed.

Willie Gallagher, chairman of TIE, said: “Our recommendation of BBS as preferred bidder for building the tram infrastructure represents a tremendous milestone for the project. A contract of this nature is unprecedented in Scotland, and tie has spent over 12 months of intensive negotiations ensuring that we secure the best deal for our capital city. The scale of this circa £300m construction contract underlines Edinburgh tram’s position as one of the highest-profile infrastructure projects in the UK and establishes our ability to appoint the best international experts to do the job. "

Tram lines built by Bilfinger Berger, the world's tenth-largest construction firm, include those in Paris, Bordeaux and Montpelier, while Siemens built the Sheffield tram scheme.