Second phase of Ravenscraig secured
- Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Core will continue manage utility installation at Ravenscraig following a half a million pound contract win to design and install the multi-utility infrastructure for the second phase of the ambitious regeneration project. The total value of multi-utility contracts awarded to Core for the Ravenscraig project has now reached almost £2million.
The leading multi-utility provider will install the gas, electricity, water, BT, Virgin Media and Thus infrastructure to the second phase of the site which will house the new 200,000 sq ft state-of-the-art Motherwell College campus. The project, on the site of the former steelworks at Ravenscraig in Lanarkshire, will see the installation of over 1km of 450mm water pipe, almost 1.5km of 315mm gas pipe, and 14.5km in total of BT, Virgin Media and spare telecom ducts across an area covering approximately 1 sq km.
Colin Ferry, Project Manager from Core said: “To be given the opportunity to continue into the second phase of one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe is testament to the work we have completed so far. “A project of this scale and ambition requires an enormous amount of detailed planning and preparation, to coordinate with client, designers, consultants and operational staff. For example, there are miles of sewers and other redundant plant and power cables under the site which we have had to map out and work around. This is precisely the type of challenge that Core can tackle.”
Previously, this type of project would have relied on each individual utility being installed separately but Core works on single infrastructure installations which support all four utilities, ensuring that positioning and installation is planned to coincide where appropriate. Colin continues: “Undertaking this size of project using separate providers for each utility would take significantly longer and would cause more disruption on site – Core’s multi-utility capabilities are a major advantage.”
Work to install the infrastructure for the second phase including Motherwell college is due to begin on site in November and will last approximately one month. The project to build a new community in Ravenscraig is being undertaken by a public-private venture between Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire, Wilson Bowden and Corus plc.
The regeneration of the former steelworks site is one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe and is expected to create 12,000 jobs and attract in excess of £1.2 billion of private sector investment over a period of 15 - 20 years.