The Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) working on HS2 has been awarded an additional £305.3m by HS2 Ltd.
The funds, awarded under the existing £3.8bn contract, will go towards works on the first phase of the new high-speed rail.
They refer to planned and agreed changes in the scope of the works. According to HS2 Ltd, the allocation is based on the calculation of a number of elements including the project’s contingency provision, additional compensation events, inflation adjustments and incentive payments.
Payments refer to anticipated events that were previously anticipated but not included in the contract’s point estimate. This includes costs related to the increased amount of electricity to drive tunnel boring machines (TBMs), extended working hours to reduce program delays, additional volumes of reinforcement in key structures and an increased need for hand of tunnel work.
The JV is split into 34 percent Skanska, 34 percent Costain and 32 percent Strabag, and the funding split follows these percentages.
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said: “There has been no increase in the budget for phase one of HS2. The budget allocation review was planned expenditure and is all covered within the budget for phase one” .
The contract includes the design and construction of large tunnels in the southern part of the overall project.
Since HS2 Ltd gave notice to proceed in April 2020, significant progress has been made.
Two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) started operating in late 2022 from West Ruislip Portal to Green Park Way. They will build 8km of the 13.5km Northolt Tunnel. Two more TBMs will be launched from the Victoria Road Crossover Box next year.
A third tunnel is currently operating from Atlas Road, building a logistics tunnel between the Old Oak Common station site and the Atlas Road site.
However, in April this year HS2 said construction of a 7.2 kilometer tunnel between its Euston and Old Oak Common stations would not start next year as planned.
SCS JV is responsible for the construction of the Euston Tunnel in London as part of the main civil works contract. Last year, the JV received additional funding for the tunnel works.
