Principal contractor appointed to SCAPE’s £4bn civil engineering frameworks

Balfour Beatty has been appointed to deliver SCAPE’s £3.25bn Civil Engineering framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the £750m framework for Scotland – managed and operated by SCAPE Scotland.

Running for a period of four years from 2023, with an option to be extended for a further two years until 2029, the appointment follows the success of the existing frameworks which have commissioned more than 250 projects to date for public sector clients across the UK. These include the Regent Street flyover replacement in Leeds, and the Wokingham Major Highways programme.

The direct award, gold standard frameworks will more than double the capacity of civil infrastructure-focused activity procured through SCAPE. The procurement authority is currently accelerating the delivery of more than 1,800 publicly funded projects in the built environment across the UK.

The third-generation frameworks will empower local authorities and public sector organisations to progress the delivery of sustainably designed major infrastructure projects – including roads, rail, flood and coastal, broadband and electric vehicle infrastructure – with no defined upper limit for project value.

SMEs will sit at the heart of the new frameworks, with Balfour Beatty expected to collaborate and engage with an extensive supply chain of local businesses. SCAPE has designed the framework to facilitate better access for small companies onto major public sector contracts, while also allowing public organisations to prioritise working with local specialists.