Halton Borough Council and the Merseylink consortium have announced that financial close has been reached on the project and that procurement savings of £250m have been achieved. Steve Nicholson, interim chief executive of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board and the project director leading up to financial close, said: “When we set out our procurement approach three years ago we deliberately chose a strategy that would allow our potential private sector partners to innovate, save money for the public purse and add value to the project. Merseylink has delivered on all three fronts and we are excited to be concluding this deal today.”
The centrepiece of the Mersey Gateway Project is a new six-lane toll bridge over the River Mersey. The value of the construction phase of the project, including land, is estimated at £600m and the total project costs and revenues over the next 30 years are estimated at around £2bn.
Merseylink Consortium’s equity partners are Macquarie Capital Group, Bilfinger Project Investments Europe and FCC Construcción. The construction joint venture is made up of Kier Infrastructure & Overseas, Samsung C&T Corporation and FCC Construcción.
Stephen Cardwell, project director for the Merseylink Construction Joint Venture, said: “We’ve already started our work to engage with the local supply chain and potential employees and the response we have had has been encouraging.”
A number of initial contracts worth a total of £10m are ready to be announced by Merseylink with the majority going to north west businesses. These include contracts for demolition works across the borough, a contract for the construction of the main haul roads to access the river works, and contracts for the construction of the cofferdams and trestle bridge to access the main bridge foundations. There has also been a strong response to Merseylink’s call for CVs and applications from local people who could be part of its eventual 500-strong workforce on the bridge. Over 1,200 CVs have been submitted in the first wave of recruitment.
Councillor Rob Polhill, leader of Halton Borough Council, said: “This is an historic day for Halton, but in many ways the real work starts now. We’ll now be working closely with the Merseylink team to help build a bridge that will create jobs, encourage investment and be a catalyst for regeneration in the area.”
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