Thursday, April 01, 2004

Amey and Laing Roads, its consortium partner, have been awarded a £165 million street lighting PFI contract by Manchester City Council.

The project delivery company is co-owned by Amey Ventures, a subsidiary of Amey plc, the support services specialist, and Laing Roads, a division of John Laing plc, the UK’s leading PPP/PFI infrastructure investor and developer.

The Manchester project is the third PFI street lighting contract to be undertaken by a partnership between Amey and Laing, following closure of the Walsall street lighting contract in March 2002 and the Wakefield street lighting contract in December 2003. The award underlines Amey’s position as the leading PFI street lighting contractor in the UK. The street lighting PFI market continues to grow strongly and is valued at around £4 billion based on local Government estimates.

The contract is designed to renew and upgrade street lighting across Manchester. Amey Highways, on behalf of the consortium, will assume responsibility for the management, design, installation and ongoing repair and maintenance of the city’s entire lighting stock. Under the terms of the contract the consortium will replace or upgrade 56,000 streetlights. Services under the 25-year contract will commence in early July 2004.

Councillor Paul Murphy, Manchester City Council's Executive member for Direct Services, said: "I am delighted that this deal has been concluded. Manchester looks forward to benefiting from immense improvements in the quality of the City’s lighting over the next few years."

Mel Ewell, Chief Executive of Amey, said: "We are pleased to be Manchester City Council's chosen partner in this venture. This is an exciting project for Amey, which will enhance our position as the UK’s leading Street Lighting PFI service provider. We much look forward to working with Council members and employees in the delivery of a first class street lighting service for the benefit of the people of Manchester.”

Derek Potts, Managing Director of Laing Roads, said: "Our ongoing partnership with Amey allows our respective strengths and experience in street lighting and maintenance projects to benefit the people of Manchester. Laing Roads is established as a leading investor in this field and we look forward to investing in similar projects for other major cities, as we already are in Walsall and Wakefield.”