Edinburgh Airport and Balfour Beatty’s Long-Term Partnership

Global infrastructure company Balfour Beatty has secured a £65m (US$86m) contract to expand the South East Pier at Edinburgh Airport. 

The contract is part of the first phase of the airport’s largest-ever capital investment programme, which will see £500m (US$664m) invested into the airport’s infrastructure across five years. 

South East Pier Expansion

In response to major passenger growth driven by new transatlantic routes, the South East Pier Expansion (SEPEX) will see the construction of: 

• Eight departure gates 
• A two-storey terminal expansion
• Expanded check-in hall and departure lounge
• New aircraft stands and critical airfield upgrades

Despite the logistical complexity of delivering major construction work within a high-consequence live environment – Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s busiest transportation hub – Balfour Beatty has already completed eight new link bridges for the project.

“Operating within highly regulated live airport environments requires specialist expertise,” says Nick Rowan, Managing Director at Balfour Beatty Scotland. “[Our] teams’ capability has enabled us to safely deliver complex infrastructure projects while maintaining operation continuity and minimising disruption for airport users.”

Continuity as delivery strategy 

The SEPEX contract will extend Edinburgh Airport’s operational alignment with Balfour Beatty, built over 25 years. Since 2010, Balfour Beatty has delivered £80m (US$106m) in successive projects to the airport: from runway upgrades to security enhancement programmes. 

The prolonged partnership demonstrates the value of contractor incumbency for high-capital transport infrastructure projects in live environments. 

As opposed to traditional transactional procurement, a multi-phase delivery relationship built on the back of long-standing project cycles has significant strategic potential:

• Asset literacy: micro-level operational insight into the site’s technical make-up based on previous deliveries, compounded knowledge and procedural familiarity
• Efficient mobilisation: a faster mobilisation of site teams and supply chains, as site-specific frameworks remain integrated
• Reduced re-mobilisation risk: disruption management systems and safety culture that carry forward through project cycles, essential for high-consequence environments
• Transaction cost management: the potential to retain specialist teams, where one-off tenderings may raise hidden procurement and onboarding costs
• Operational alignment: a streamlined maintenance of day-to-day communication channels, permit-to-work systems, and site logistics that mirror the airport’s airside operations, preventing delays to flight schedules and ground movement

Balfour Beatty maintains multiple decades-long delivery relationships with global aviation hubs, including successive 30 years at London Heathrow and 30-year concession at Los Angeles International Airport. 

Its portfolio demonstrates how longstanding partnerships can prove a key competitive asset.

How continuity fosters workforce development 

Unlike delivery solutions based around short-term contracts, partnerships based on successive frameworks also foster the development of long-term skill pipelines, further compounding project value. 

Continuity offers temporal scope: local supply chains and subcontractors have the impetus to develop specialised solutions, and opportunities are extended for early-career investment.

“We’ve had a presence at Edinburgh Airport for nearly three decades,” Nick commented in a LinkedIn post celebrating Balfour Beatty’s SEPEX award. “The continuity provided by our programme of work has enabled us to invest in our people.” 

Balfour Beatty projects the employment of 30 apprenticeship, trainee and graduate workers at the SEPEX programme’s peak. 

By leveraging its established alignments, the firm can develop its workforce across multi-year deliveries: a strategy that compounds streamlined delivery with industry growth.

SEPEX’s key partners

Balfour Beatty: Founded in London in 1909, Balfour Beatty is an international infrastructure giant with a century-long legacy delivering major infrastructure programmes in Scotland. Their global airport portfolio includes hubs like London Heathrow and London Gatwick in the UK, Dallas Fort Worth International in the US, and Hong Kong International Airport. The company specialises in complex, live-environment aviation infrastructure projects worldwide.

Edinburgh Airport: Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s highest-traffic airport and the sixth-busiest airport in the UK, connecting to over 160 destinations worldwide. Their ambitious £500m (US$664m) investment programme will upgrade the airport’s operational capacity and services in response to major passenger growth. In 2025, the hub saw a record-breaking 16.98 million passengers, the highest annual total ever recorded by a Scottish airport.

VINCI Airports: Part of the VINCI Concessions portfolio, VINCI Airports is the world’s leading private airport operator and holds over 70 airports across 14 countries. After acquiring a 50.01% controlling stake in Edinburgh Airport for £1.27bn (US$1.68bn) in 2024, the company will provide its immense financial scale and international aviation expertise to back the airport’s comprehensive multi-year capital investment and expansion programme.

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP): A part of BlackRock, a US-based global investment firm ranking as the largest asset manager worldwide, Global Infrastructure Partners is a leading investor with stakes in London Gatwick and Australia’s Sydney Airport. GIP owns 49.99% of Edinburgh Airport, working alongside VINCI Airports to steer long-term equity strategy, infrastructure resilience, and commercial growth across the estate.

BlackRock: Headquartered in New York, BlackRock is the world’s largest asset management firm, holding multi-trillion-dollar investments across global capital markets and essential infrastructure sectors. As the parent company of Global Infrastructure Partners, BlackRock provides institutional financial backing, strategic capital alignment, and corporate governance for major international transport assets, including Edinburgh Airport’s ongoing expansion drive.