Keller Group plc ("the Group"), the international ground engineering specialist, announces that it has been awarded two major contracts relating to the main tunnels for Crossrail, the new east-west railway link to be built under Central London.
Keller UK ("Keller") has been awarded the compensation grouting works at London Underground's Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations. The contract covers the installation of over 50 kilometres of specialist pipe, through which grout will be pumped whilst the tunneling works are in progress, to mitigate any ground movement and protect the existing infrastructure.
Keller has also been awarded a contract for structural monitoring, geotechnical instrumentation and surveying works, employing the Getec monitoring system which was originally developed by Keller in Germany and recently introduced into the UK.
The two contracts will be undertaken in joint venture and have a combined value to Keller of around £30m. Work on both will begin shortly and will run through to 2014.
These follow the award of a £37m contract in June for grouting works for the Victoria Underground Station upgrade, which will start in late 2011 and will be undertaken with support from other Group businesses in Europe. Taken together, the three contracts significantly improve the prospects of the UK business, which has faced extremely challenging market conditions in recent years.
Justin Atkinson, Keller Chief Executive, commented:
"Major infrastructure projects such as these, requiring complex solutions, play to our strengths as a global, high-capacity provider.
"These three contracts, which will draw on combined Group resources and our considerable experience of large-scale tunnel stabilisation projects around the world, demonstrate the synergies between our businesses, particularly when it comes to co-operation on large projects."
Notes to Editors:
Keller is the world's largest independent ground engineering specialist, providing technically advanced and cost-effective foundation solutions to the construction industry. With 2010 revenue of £1,069m, Keller has over 6,000 staff world-wide, with offices in around 40 countries on five continents.
Keller is the market leader in the US and Australia; it has prime positions in most established European markets; and a strong profile in many developing markets.