Scots get inside track on how to bid for £10bn of HS2 contracts

Scottish businesses have been learning how to compete for over £10bn of contracts on the £50bn HS2 railway project.

Jackie Whitelaw
05 November 2015

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Over 160 firms working in a range of sectors from across the country attended a special conference including companies from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.

The speakers set out the size, scale and type of work that is on offer throughout the supply chain and providing specific, technical information on how companies can compete for the contracts, not just in design and construction, but on a wide array of supporting activities such as signaling and telecommunications.

“Britain’s high speed rail network is a major, long-term project offering a huge opportunity for Scottish companies to develop the necessary staff and skills base that will position them to bid for the billions of pounds worth of contracts available throughout the supply chain during construction,” said HS2 chief executive Simon Kirby.

“To deliver a project of HS2’s scale and complexity requires the right companies with the right skills. I’m extremely pleased that so many firms across Scotland have signed up to find out more about how they can benefit from this huge UK infrastructure investment.”

UK Transport Minister for HS2 Robert Goodwill urged Scottish business to take full advantage of the opportunities HS2 offers.

“The UK government’s ground-breaking HS2 programme provides a fantastic opportunity for businesses across the UK, including those here in Scotland. It will create some of the largest value contracts in UK construction history, creating job opportunities throughout the supply chain,” he said.

“Britain’s high speed rail network is a major, long-term project offering a huge opportunity for Scottish companies to develop the necessary staff and skills base that will position them to bid for the billions of pounds worth of contracts available throughout the supply chain during construction,” - HS2 chief executive Simon Kirby.

“With billions of pounds worth of contracts on the table, we hope Scottish businesses will take full advantage of this event, which will set out how firms can compete for work on this vital infrastructure project.”

“Britain’s high speed rail network is a major, long-term project offering a huge opportunity for Scottish companies to develop the necessary staff and skills base that will position them to bid for the billions of pounds worth of contracts available throughout the supply chain during construction" - HS2 chief executive Simon Kirby.

Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities confirmed the Scottish government’s commitment to the need for a high speed link to Scotland.

“I have always maintained that we must extend the high speed rail network further and faster to Scotland in order to deliver significant economic benefits by boosting growth and providing more and better opportunities,” he said.

“Not only are the effective transport connections that a high speed rail network entails vital in ensuring that our businesses are able to compete and grow, but Scotland’s world class supply chain businesses can also play a key role in delivering this project, building skills, capability and jobs for the next generation.

“The Scottish Government is committed to see a high speed rail network built to serve Scotland and, as evidenced by recent large infrastructure projects such as the re-opening of the Borders Railway – the longest stretch of new railway line build in the UK in over 100 years - I am confident that Scotland has the skills and expertise to deliver a project of this scale.”

Scotland’s strong engineering base, particularly the specialist metal machining sector, puts a large number of Scottish companies in a position to contribute to the supply chain for HS2, according to CEO of Scottish Engineering Bryan Buchan. “Two major players in Scotland, Progress Rail and Network Engineering (part of Babcock International), for example already have specific expertise in railway construction and servicing,” he said.  “The precision machine houses that support the oil and gas industry can also bring the expertise needed to deliver this major engineering project.”

Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, added:“This is a large scale project with the potential for large scale opportunities for Scotland’s strong engineering base. I would encourage companies’ right across our country to get involved in this event and learn more about the opportunities they could benefit from in the years ahead.”