LUCRATIVE contracts with the multi-billion pound Crossrail project in southern England are up for grabs – and North East firms are being urged to capture a slice of the action.
The 73-mile rail line linking Berkshire to Essex with 21 kilometres of twin tunnels under London has already had beneficial business spin-offs across the country.
Enough work to support 55,000 full-time jobs is now expected to be generated in the project’s final five years to 2018. And business leaders say North East firms could be in line for a piece of the £18bn worth of coming business, if they act now.
North East Chamber of Commerce chief executive James Ramsbotham said: “It is of vital importance that North East firms take advantage of the opportunities presented by these large-scale infrastructure projects and I am delighted to see many have benefited from the Crossrail project.”
Companies with bases in Newcastle and Northumberland have already clinched profitable contracts with the huge development.
The Dutch heavy lift contractor Mammoet, which has a base in Wallsend as well as Teesside and Leeds, has taken its staffing up to 170 thanks to Crossrail.
Mammoet, whose international HQ is in Utrecht, Netherlands, has supplied heavy telescopic mobile cranes and specialist jacking, skidding and transportation equipment to assemble and transport the huge tunnelling machines at the Royal Oak portal in west London.
The firm has also supplied smaller mobile cranes at the Limmo and Canary Wharf sites.
Advanced Engineering Solutions Ltd of Cramlington, which has 40 staff and inspects underground pipelines, has also prospered with “significant” Crossrail business.
The company checks whether pipeline sections need remedial work where Crossrail’s tunnelling machines are operating nearby. Darlington-based Cleveland Bridge has supplied three Crossrail sites with almost 2,500 tonnes of steel.
Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail chief executive, said: “Crossrail is already helping to support jobs in the North East as businesses have benefited from work connected to the project.
“Work on Crossrail is set to peak over the next two years, so it’s vital that businesses in the region seize the opportunities that Europe’s largest construction project has to offer.
“We want to make sure that firms of all sizes from right across the UK know about the business openings that will arise.”
A total of 1,701 UK businesses have so far secured work connected to the project.
Of these, 650 are based in London and 977 in London and the South East. Crossrail’s current funding envelope stands at £14.8bn.
The rail route will, when complete, stretch 73 miles from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, running through 37 stations and 13 miles of tunnels beneath central London, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. When opened, it will increase the capital’s transport network capacity by 10%.
