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September 21, 2026
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has appointed an Aecom-Jacobs joint venture as programme delivery partner for Dublin’s €9.5bn MetroLink project, supported by Ramboll and Nicholas O’Dwyer.
The team will support procurement and oversee programme delivery, including programme management, governance, risk and coordination between contractors.
MetroLink will connect Swords and Dublin Airport with Dublin city centre via a predominantly underground railway with 16 new stations. The value of the programme delivery partner contract was not disclosed.
The Irish Government has also approved MetroLink to proceed to detailed tender, allowing Transport Infrastructure Ireland to seek bids for the project’s main construction and operation contracts.
Main tender documents are due from Q1 2027, with enabling works starting earlier in the year and tunnelling and station construction planned from 2028.
Iarnród Éireann has appointed Amey as the sole supplier on its eight-year Signalling, Electrification and Telecoms Implementation Partner framework.
The framework covers engineering resources and multidisciplinary signalling, electrification and telecoms work across Ireland.
Separately, Iarnród Éireann has appointed five consultants to its €600m Multi-Party Framework for Project Multi-Disciplinary Consultancy Services: Arcadis, AtkinsRéalis, Egis, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald, which is working in partnership with Roughan & O’Donovan.
The framework covers advisory and design services from feasibility and preliminary design through to planning, detailed design and tendering, supporting Iarnród Éireann’s capital investment programme.
TransPennine Express has awarded Alstom a £1bn contract to supply and maintain 29 five-car battery-electric trains.
The deal comprises approximately £797m for the new Adessia Stream fleet and £197m for maintenance, with the trains funded by Rock Rail and built at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane factory in Derby.
The trains will operate routes across northern England, with deliveries due to begin in 2032.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority signed a co-development agreement earlier this summer with Momentum Alliance Partners to explore options for accelerating expansion of the state’s high-speed rail network beyond Merced–Bakersfield.
The consortium includes Plenary Americas, CDPQ Infra, Keolis, SNCF Voyageurs, Jacobs, Sener, SYSTRA, Setec, Arup and Steer.
The co-development phase could run for up to 30 months and will examine delivery, financing, operations and potential public-private partnership models. No agreement value was disclosed.
Universal has appointed 23 firms to support construction of its planned 476-acre resort development in Bedford, with enabling works already underway.
The £5bn-plus development will include a theme park, 500-room hotel and retail, dining and entertainment complex, with construction expected to run for five years ahead of opening in 2031.
Find a full list of appointed firms here.
Acivico Design, Construction & Facilities Management has named 20 contractors to its £3bn Constructing West Midlands 3 framework.
The framework covers projects including new-build, refurbishment, retrofit, demolition, enabling works, civil engineering, landscaping and infrastructure.
It is due to start in September 2026 and will initially run for four years, with the option to extend by up to two years.
Find a full list of the successful suppliers here.
The Ministry of Justice has appointed Laing O’Rourke to carry out enabling works for a planned £236m Category C prison at Ulnes Walton, Lancashire.
The A4NP scheme will provide up to 1,715 places across seven houseblocks and associated facilities, with the main construction contract yet to be awarded.
Sizewell C has appointed Kier and Breheny Civil Engineering to deliver a £100m highways package after failing to agree construction terms with Galliford Try.
Kier will deliver the 6.5km Sizewell Link Road connecting the nuclear site to the A12, while Breheny will construct the 1.8km Two Village Bypass around Farnham and Stratford St Andrew in Suffolk.
Main Roads Western Australia has awarded a AUD $700m contract to a consortium of CPB Contractors, McConnell Dowell, Arup and Jacobs to deliver the Kwinana Freeway upgrade in Perth.
The jointly government-funded project covers more than 29km of freeway improvements, including additional lanes and smart freeway technology, with construction due to start in early 2027 and finish by mid-2029
Washington DC’s District Department of Transportation has awarded Skanska a $114m design-build contract to rehabilitate the I-395 Northbound Bridge over the Potomac River.
Works include converting the bascule span to a fixed bridge, rehabilitating approach spans and upgrading barriers, drainage, lighting and vessel protection systems.
National Highways has appointed WSP and KPMG to a £1.2m contract to provide technical and advisory support for its Strategic Charging Infrastructure programme across England’s Strategic Road Network.
The two-year contract will support ultra-rapid EV charging provision, including technical assurance, electricity network connections, programme delivery, costs, risks and portfolio planning.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority has awarded First Bus the first contracts for its new franchised Weaver Network.
First Bus will operate services linked to the Bramley and Huddersfield strategic bus depots, covering parts of Leeds and Huddersfield, with the first franchised services launching in spring 2027.
SYSTRA has announced its appointment to Anglian Water’s hydrological surveys and assessments framework, which was awarded to multiple suppliers in June.
The framework will support capital delivery and environmental programmes, with work informing planning, permitting, design and construction across infrastructure projects in the East of England.
Find the full list of framework appointees here.
Severn Trent Water has awarded Galliford Try a £110m contract to deliver the River Mease Improvement project in Leicestershire.
The scheme involves construction of a 23km cross-country pipeline carrying flows from the Packington and Measham treatment works, supporting environmental compliance under the Water Industry National Environment Programme.
Severn Trent Water has also appointed Barhale to deliver the upgrade of its Ravenstone treatment works following an early contractor involvement phase.
The project will refurbish existing infrastructure and install new storm, sludge and submerged aerated filter tanks, pumping stations, pipework and MEICA systems.
Barhale identified around £2m of savings during the ECI phase, reducing the projected cost by 40%. Work is due to complete in autumn 2027.
United Utilities has awarded Kier a £29m early works package for its planned £170m advanced anaerobic digestion project at Blackburn Waterwater Treatment Works.
Kier is carrying out design development, surveys, ground investigations, enabling works and site preparation ahead of the main construction phase. Subject to approval, the new facility will treat around 45,000 tonnes of dry solids annually and increase renewable biogas production by around 20%.
The Environment Agency has appointed GRAHAM as construction partner for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme.
The five-year project will create an approximately 5km flood relief channel and wetland corridor to reduce flood risk to homes, businesses, transport routes and infrastructure across Oxford; the main construction contract value has not been disclosed.
National Grid has awarded Spencer Group contracts for groundworks and enabling works at Bradford West and Rainhill substations under its Project Civils Framework.
The upgrades will enable connections to new battery storage facilities providing a combined capacity of around 185.5MW.
The contract is scheduled to start in the summer and run into early 2027. Contract values were not disclosed.
EnergyPathways has appointed Jacobs to provide consenting, regulatory and Development Consent Order support for its 300MW/55GWh MESH Energy Storage Project.
Jacobs will lead planning and environmental work, technical coordination and stakeholder engagement, alongside supporting the grid connection and Ofgem submission.
The project is planned to connect into Barrow-in-Furness and become operational by 2031, subject to consents and financing. The contract value was not disclosed.
Carno LLP, a joint venture between Amegni Renewables and Gresham House, has awarded Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK a £46.5m contract for the £100m Carno III Wind Farm in Powys.
The works include turbine foundations, a substation and control building, access roads, cabling and 20km of underground grid connection cable for the 45MW scheme.
Luton Rising has appointed Mace Consult and Arcadis to provide programme, project, cost and commercial management services for London Luton Airport’s expansion.
The team will develop the delivery plan for works including expansion of the existing terminal, a new second terminal, additional aircraft stands and taxiways, supporting infrastructure and surface access improvements, increasing capacity to 32 million passengers a year.
Pagabo, on behalf of public procurement organisation Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO), has named 109 suppliers to a £4.3bn national civil engineering and enabling works framework. The four-year framework runs from October 2026 to September 2030 and covers 13 lots spanning highways, rail, water, energy, aviation, nuclear and defence, demolition, remediation and groundworks.
The award decision was made on the 15th of September, with the framework expected to be signed from the 28th of September.
Find a full list of appointed firms here.
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