Thursday, January 22, 2004

Sirhowy Enterprise Way Ltd, a consortium made up of Laing Roads, a division of John Laing Plc, and Costain Engineering & Construction Ltd, a division of Costain Group Plc has signed a £38 million pound agreement with Caerphilly County Borough Council to build and improve roads in the heart of the Sirhowy Valley. Laing and Costain have an equal share in the consortium.

The 30 year concession covers the design, build, finance and operation of improvements to the A4048/A472 strategic highway network between the north of Blackwood and the east of Pontllanfraith, as well as providing a new direct access route to Oakdale Business Park. The total carriageway length is 4.3km and includes a landmark cable-stayed bridge. Construction is due to finish in April 2006.

The Council sees completion of the scheme as crucial to the full development of Oakdale Business Park which is based on the site of the former Oakdale Colliery. The scheme is jointly funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and Caerphilly CBC.

Caerphilly County Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Transportation and Planning, Cllr John Taylor, welcomed the news, "We are delighted that the final contract has been signed and we now look forward to work getting underway on site. The completion of the Sirhowy Enterprise Way will bring huge benefits to the economy of the area. The construction of the road is crucial to the full development of Oakdale Business Park, which will help create thousands of new jobs. Other benefits resulting from the scheme will include the easing of traffic congestion in Blackwood Town Centre and improvements to the whole transport network in the area."

Derek Potts, Managing Director of Laing Roads said: “We are delighted that the Sirhowy Enterprise Way project has reached financial close after substantial work on all sides over a long period. With our partners Costain, we look forward to successfully delivering this project, which is important to the long-term social and economic development of the Sirhowy Valley. “

Alistair Handford, Costain PFI Director, said: “This project, when complete, will bring investment and opportunity to South Wales. At Costain we are extremely pleased to be involved in this highly significant public/private partnership and to be responsible for the civil engineering works which will greatly improve the area’s transport infrastructure.”