Balfour Beatty forms consortium bid for work on Australian highways

FTSE 250 infrastructure group Balfour Beatty formed a consortium bid with Transfield Services for the maintenance of highways along Australia's east coast, the company announced Thursday.

London-based Balfour joined forces with the Australian-listed maintenance company to win a contract for work on roads in the states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

The opportunity has arisen from the states' Reform Agenda which aims to reduce the costs of public services.

"Highways maintenance is a core strength of ours in the UK and US, and Australia is a target growth market," said Andrew McNaughton, Chief Executive Officer Designate of Balfour.

"We expect that over the next two to three years, there will be up to 12 contracts tendered in Australia and we are competitively positioned to bid for these deals by mobilising a specialist UK team to support our well established Parsons Brinckerhoff business in the country."

The works are expected to include street lighting, bridges, drain clearing, road and footway resurfacing. Services in cutting back vegetation and responding to emergencies on the network are also projected.

"Balfour Beatty's infrastructure experience and asset management expertise will enable the bids to be contracted based on achieving outcomes rather than the more traditional contracts based on specifications and rates," the company added in a statement.

RD