Balfour Beatty has chosen Jacobs to replace WSP as one of its three engineers of choice for complex projects.
Jacobs joins Mott MacDonald and Atkins as previously appointed consultancy in Balfour Beatty’s strategic design partnership, which aims to improve procurement, design and project delivery.
The association specializes in designing solutions for complex construction and infrastructure projects in areas such as health and safety, sustainability, social value and modern construction methods.
Balfour Beatty first announced a partnership six years ago with Mott MacDonald, Atkins and WSP to promote collaborative work, but WSP is absent from the latest iteration of the alliance.
A spokesman for Balfour Beatty said the partnership was “continually evolving”.
“We review our partners every five years to ensure that our combined experience and capability aligns with the next market opportunities we are ready to deliver,” he said.
“For the second generation of the partnership, we have chosen to leverage Jacobs’ breadth of experience in the energy sector as we align our organization to capitalize on the decade of infrastructure growth we see in our chosen markets “.
Stephen Tarr, Balfour Beatty’s chief executive for major projects, said the company continued to take an innovative approach to the relationship between contractor and designer.
“We truly believe that collaborative partnerships such as the Strategic Design Partnership have the opportunity to revolutionize our industry and should be considered the vehicle of choice to ensure that projects are acquired, designed and delivered safer, faster, better and greener,” he said. .
Jacobs vice president Bruce Chalmers said the partnership would enable closer integration of the companies’ collective expertise to drive efficiency and create value-focused solutions.
“This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of infrastructure provision in the UK, putting sustainability and different ways of working at the heart of delivering better outcomes for society and the environment,” he said.
WSP has been approached for comment.
