Author: Elizabeth Smythe

The construction of a new green energy power plant in Wilton will create hundreds of jobs while providing power to 63,000 homes, waste-management-world.com writes.

SITA UK, Sembcorp Utilities UK and Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority have announced that – subject to ‘financial closure’ – a £200 million power station will be built at the Teesside site and operational by 2016.

Called Wilton 11, the plant will produce energy from non-recyclable household waste which will be delivered via rail from a facility in Merseyside. The plant will be able to process 43,000 tonnes of rubbish each year. In addition, the waste will be converted to ‘green heat’, a steam that can be used by process industry manufacturers.

With construction earmarked for early 2014, it is thought that the project will create 200 jobs plus a further 50-70 permanent roles. These might range from site managers and risk assessors to electricians and structural engineer jobs. They will be needed to build and manage the two facilities: the plant itself and a rail-loading waste transfer system in Merseyside.

Commenting on the announcement, Sembcorp’s vice-president and site director Dr Douglas Annan told nebusiness.co.uk: “As well as creating jobs and bringing new investment to the area, Wilton 11 will produce electricity using a sustainable fuel source, reuse materials preventing them going to landfill and provide renewably-sourced heat for use in power generation or for distribution to our industrial customers on site.”

Author: Joe Elvin

Major engineering works have been announced for the West Coast Mainline.

Four large junctions on Britain’s busiest mixed-use railway line will have be replaced and enhanced over a nine-day period beginning on July 13.

Those in electrical engineer jobs might have their work cut out, as an estimated three miles of track will need to be re-laid during this period.

According to networkrailmediacentre.co.uk, the works will ultimately allow trains to travel much faster across the 18-mile stretch of railroad being affected.

It is certainly one of the biggest rail engineering projects to be announced so far this year.

Speaking to rail.co, the route’s managing director Dyan Crowther explained why it was best for the project to be completed in one nine-day sprint.

He said: “There is never a good time to carry out major work on such a busy route and after careful discussion with the train operators and industry partners, it became apparent that undertaking this vital investment in nine consecutive days in July, would overall cause less disruption.

“Train services are quieter at this time and fewer people are expected to experience changes to their travel plans compared to the work being staggered over the next two years.”

Author: Lauren Sutton

Berkeley Homes has agreed a deal to create private rented homes in London. Constructionenquirer.com reports that the house building company has come to an agreement with public funding bodies.

Around £90 million worth of private rented homes would be built at seven Berkeley sites. Notting Hill Housing Group (NHHG) has joined the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) to create the scheme.

Berkeley Homes will build 140 homes, where site manager jobs and other construction vacancies may become available. The homes would then be acquired by NHHG through a £45 million loan from the Get Britain Building programme.

Cnplus.co.uk claims NHHG will add another 140 homes of its own to the portfolio.

Chief executive of Notting Hill Housing Trust, Kate Davies said: “The opportunity to acquire such a large number of quality homes, with support from the GLA and HCA, enables us to create a strong market rent operation at Notting Hill.”

The Berkeley homes are due to be completed by the end of March 2015. Homes will be built in Lewisham, Hackney, Harrow and Croydon, along with various other areas around London.

The programmes director at the HCA, Richard Hill said that the deal showed a rise in interest from companies looking to invest in the private rental sector.

Author: David Howells

A new tunnel will be bored underneath the streets of London after HS2 protesters won their battle for an alternative, rail.co reports.

Original plans for the HS2 route have had to be amended following a successful campaign from residents of Ealing and Northolt who were fearful of the noise and disruption that the original overground link would cause. Now, the track will run through tunnels that could actually shave around 15 months off the total construction time.

Under the new, amended proposals, the HS2 line could eventually run in continuous bored twin tunnels between Old Oak Common and West Ruislip. At 14km in length, this would make it the longest tunnel on the HS2 route. It would also be longer than any tunnel currently being built as part of the Crossrail work.

Whilst tunnelling work may seem more costly, the total value could work out to be roughly the same, as tunnelling means there’s no need to replace old bridges or build new ones. It could, however, make for a change in the workforce needed, with the creation of new tunnelling engineer jobs set to be announced in due course.

Commenting on the new amendment, HS2 Ltd Community and Stakeholder Manager for London, Peter Fry, told constructionenquirer.com: “The recommendation to build a tunnel through Ealing and Northolt shows what can be achieved by working with local people and that we value their input and suggestions.

“The study we commissioned found that for this specific section of the line, the cost of the tunnel would be comparable with a route on the surface without the need to replace bridges and replace associated utilities. The proposed tunnel will be included as the preferred option in the draft Environmental Statement for the first phase of HS2, so the community and stakeholders will have the opportunity to respond.”

Author: David Howells

The government has announced a new Technical Baccalaureate in the hope of boosting vocational qualifications, recruiter.co.uk reports.

The so-called ‘TechBacc’ will be open to students between the age of 16 and 19, with a view to giving “vocational education the high status is deserved”, skills minister Matthew Hancock has claimed.

Set to be used as a performance measure for schools and for students to show off their relevant skills to potential employers, the TechBacc will cover three separate subjects: maths, literacy and a third, high-level vocational qualification. This will make them relevant for those seeking out roles in IT, retail, hospitality and digital media. It will also impact the construction sector, meaning those who fill structural engineer jobs in the future may have worked from the TechBacc start.

Testing for the TechBacc is set to measure students for “complex and non-routine” skills, thereby making them on a par with existing ‘A’ Level qualifications. It will be used to determine league tables from 2017 onwards.

Adding, Hancock told sky.com how the TechBacc “will incentivise the development of high-quality courses and incentivise schools and colleges to offer courses that get young people on in life.

“We expect all bright students who want to go into technically skilled jobs or apprenticeships to aim for the TechBacc.”

Author: Paul Smithson

Around 50 per cent more university graduates need to go into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers to fill the expected shortfall in scientists, the former head of BP has claimed.

Lord Browne, who headed the energy company until 2007, wrote on telegraph.co.uk that “ambitious and imaginative schemes” should be used to inspire more young people to choose such jobs, although he also noted that “intelligent immigration rules” would also help the UK get access to the most skilled individuals.

In his opinion, it could be a combination of homegrown talent and foreign nationals that help ensure the country’s continued success in scientific sectors. This implies that he is happy for British students to compete against international students for positions such as bridge engineer jobs.

The peer was also keen for the government to ringfence funds over an extended period of time for investment in research and development, saying: ‘No parliament can bind its successor, but the development of a stable investment framework with a time horizon of at least fifteen years should be at the heart of our industrial strategy.’

Last weekend, an interview with Lord Browne was published on thetimes.co.uk, in which he was labelled a ‘political guru’ – among other things. The news provider also noted he has advised five different prime ministers in his time at the forefront of the business world.

Author: Richard Towey

Merseyside waste chiefs have announced plans to develop two key power facilities with the hope of turning the county’s household waste into electricity, reports liverpoolecho.co.uk.

Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, SITA UK and Sembcorp UK say they now have planning permission to start work on a local rail-loading waste transfer station and a new energy-from-waste facility at Wilton International on Teesside, both of which they hope will be up and running by 2016.

It’s thought around 100 roles will be created at the rail depot and waste transfer in Knowsley, while nebusiness.co.uk claims the £200 million facility on Teesside will bring 250 jobs. Over 70 engineering jobs will be created at the plants, which could alert those looking for project engineer jobs in Britain’s thriving power sector.

All of this is outlined in the Merseyside and Halton waste resource and recovery contract. The deal is expected to last for 30 years and will bring over 430,000 tonnes of household waste into Wilton 11 each year.

Once complete, the plants will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 63,000 homes around Merseyside, saving 130,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Dr Douglas Annan, senior vice-president and site director of Sembcorp Utilities UK, commented: “As well as creating jobs and bringing new investment to the area, Wilton 11 will produce electricity using a sustainable fuel source, reuse materials preventing them going to landfill and provide renewably-sourced heat for use in power generation on for distributed to our industrial customers on site.”

Author: David Howells

The bidding race for some of the largest civil infrastructure contracts ever offered in Scotland has begun, scotsman.com reports.

The A9 Dualling project will see the 80-mile road between Perth and Inverness see its capacity double with the introduction of a second lane in each direction. In total there will be three contracts on offer for separate parts of the works, with each being valued at £40 – £60 million. The exact area to be covered by each contract has not yet been revealed, however, as this will emerge during procurement.

Work on the A9 will not only benefit those travelling between Perth and Inverness, but could also provide a boon for the local economy, with the government thought to be ploughing around £3 billion into the scheme in total.

It could also benefit local contractors and improve long-term job rates, as the work is expected to take up to 12 years to complete, meaning that filling electrical engineer jobs and the like could see those positions sustained for over a decade.

Speaking to constructionenquirer.com of the work, Scotland’s transport minister Keith Brown explained: “This £3 billion complex and challenging programme will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history.

“The sheer scale, 80 miles of dual carriageway, makes it good business and value for money to split this design work into three large sections. The start of procurement for the detailed design work is a clear indication of our commitment to this project.”

Author: Lauren Sutton

Huge plans to rebuild Euston Station as part of the HS2 scheme have been scrapped. According to constructionenquirer.com, the original demolition plan has been knocked on the head in favour of a quicker solution.

The redevelopment was due to take around ten years to complete but the new plans are expected to shave years off of the completion date. Many of the existing platforms will now be retained and refurbished, rather than completely rebuilt, as per the original plans.

The revitalisation side of the scheme is thought to still be going ahead with new offices, shops and homes due to be built above the station. Signalling installer jobs, amongst other rail industry vacancies could form part of the revamp for the station.

HS2 chief executive Alison Munro said: “We are looking at an option for Euston Station which would see new platforms built as part of an integrated, redeveloped station with a combined concourse, new western entrance and improved facilities across the integrated terminus.”

Bbc.co.uk reports that HS2 Ltd announced the amended plans. The company is responsible for promoting and developing the first phase of the scheme.

Eleven new platforms are due to be built around the existing platforms at Euston to allow for the high-speed trains.