Innovation for the future - better delivery of mega projects
Balfour Beatty VINCI, the long-established joint venture between two global infrastructure leaders, today releases its paper 'Innovation for the Future – Better Delivery of Mega Projects'.
The UK has a number of mega projects in the pipeline, from the new runway in the south east, to the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a nuclear power station at Hinkley Point and new railways including High Speed 2 and Crossrail 2. Given the scale and importance of these mega projects to the UK, all the key players, including government, contractors and commissioners, need to play their part in ensuring that they are delivered as efficiently as possible.
In 2008, Balfour Beatty and VINCI Construction set up a strategic alliance to deliver major infrastructure projects in the UK. Balfour Beatty VINCI believes that the infrastructure industry must modernise in order to secure its own future. We must be at the forefront of innovation to attract the multi-generational, skilled workforce we need.
Building on its insight and expertise as the leading infrastructure contractors in the UK and France, Balfour Beatty VINCI recommend a move towards a more collaborative approach, where all parties work together to achieve the desired outcome. Innovation has to replace business as usual and become the new normal. To this end, this paper briefly considers how the following areas might evolve in order to deliver this change:
- Enabling contractors to innovate
- Skills
- Technological innovation
- Supply chain engagement
Balfour Beatty and VINCI started working together over 30 years ago when both were members of the TransManche Link consortium which delivered the Channel Tunnel. Balfour Beatty VINCI has successfully bid and delivered a number of key projects on Crossrail and have recently been awarded a Smart Motorways Programme, starting with an 18km stretch of the M5
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