Balfour Beatty plc (LON:BBY) got a £2,5bn boost today with news the engineering contractor has been awarded two contracts for the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway project, while troubled peer Carillion PLC (LON:CLLN) also won two contracts worth £1.4bn.
The £56bn HS2 project railway will connect London to cities in the centre and north of the country, with a first phase planned to open in 2026 and a second by 2033.
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In a statement, FTSE 250-listed Balfour Beatty said the contracts have been awarded to its 50/50 joint venture with France's Vinci SA, with work scheduled to start in 2018/19.
In a statement, Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty‘s group chief executive, said: "This is a generational engineering project. HS2 will provide vital infrastructure not only to rebalance the economy, but also to fuel growth in skills, jobs and prosperity across the UK for the future.
“Balfour Beatty's joint venture with VINCI has world-class capability in this area and our selection as preferred bidder for two sections is a major endorsement of our strength."
In a separate statement, Carillion said its two contracts have been awarded to the CEK joint venture partnership which consists of the firm, Keir Group PLC (LON:KIE), and France’s Eiffage SA.
Keith Cochrane, Carillion’s interim CEO, said "We are delighted that our Joint Venture, CEK, has been selected to deliver two of the three central contracts for HS2 Phase 1, the London to Birmingham section of the route, reflecting the strength of our Joint Venture.
“We look forward to working in close collaboration with HS2 to deliver this iconic project.”
READ: Carillion shares plunge as it warns on full year revenue and chief executive departs
The HS2 contracts provide some badly-needed good news for Carillion which saw its share price nearly halve last week after being rocked by a full year revenues warning, dividend suspension and the immediate departure of its chief executive, Richard Howson.
In early trading, Carillion shares topped the FTSE 250 leader board, bouncing 8%, or 4.55p higher to 60.70p, while Balfour shares gained 2.5%, or 6.5p at 269.4p.