Negotiations are currently underway between Laing O'Rourke's Expanded division, specialising in geotechnical, civil engineering and structural concrete works, and CWG, which late last year finalised a deal with the Secretary of State for Transport, Transport for London and Crossrail Ltd to design and construct the Isle of Dogs Station for a fixed price of £500m.
Preparatory work for the station, which will be located in North Dock, has begun. It will be one of the first sites to commence construction on the much-anticipated Crossrail project. The station box is due to be completed by summer 2012, with the first Crossrail passenger trains planned to run in 2017, with a full service building up over the following 12 months.
Crossrail will help to cater for the continued growth of Canary Wharf's working population and drive further development in East London. Travel times across the capital will be cut, making it possible to travel between Canary Wharf and Liverpool Street in seven minutes, Paddington in 17 minutes and Heathrow in 44 minutes.
Above the Isle of Dogs Station will be approximately 100,000 square feet of retail space designed by Foster + Partners and a roof-top park and community facility designed by Gillespies, with views out over the Docks and Canary Wharf beyond. The Station will be covered by an elegant, semi open-air timber lattice roof. It will aim for a BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) target of 'outstanding' and enhance the biodiversity in and around the Canary Wharf Estate.
Tony Douglas, Laing O'Rourke's Chief Operating Officer, said "Everyone at Laing O'Rourke is very proud to have achieved preferred bidder status for the first package of work for this massive transport project".
George Iacobescu, Chief Executive at Canary Wharf Group said: "It is exciting to see the much anticipated Crossrail project pick up speed. Canary Wharf and London's transport infrastructure needs to keep pace with future growth, especially if we are to retain our position as a global commercial centre in the face of competition from developing cities around the world.
"We are pleased to put our experience and expertise in developing top-quality, large scale buildings to use on this important project for London, and look forward to working with our contractors to deliver a station on time and on-budget."
Rob Holden, Crossrail Chief Executive said: "This is another important step forward for the project and further proof of the will and determination to see Crossrail built. Canary Wharf is a major interchange for the railway and I am delighted that preparations for the start of work on this key station are so well advanced."
ENDS
For more information, contact:
Hamish McDougall, Canary Wharf Group Press Office
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7 418 2326 or +44 (0) 7779 888 075
Email: hamish.mcdougall@canarywharf.com
Jeremy de Souza, Laing O'Rourke
Phone: +44 (0) 1322 296 467
Email: jdesouza@laingorourke.com
About the Isle of Dogs Crossrail Station
An image of the station is available on request.
CWG and its predecessor organisations have a long history of funding transport infrastructure projects in London, including the original Docklands Light Railway and the Jubilee Line Extension.
On 24 December 2008 CWG concluded agreements with the Secretary of State for Transport and Transport for London subsidiary Cross London Rail Links Limited to design and build the new Isle of Dogs Crossrail Station for a fixed price of £500m. CWG will contribute £150m towards the costs.
£350m of the station's £500m costs will be met from Crossrail's £15.9bn budget with CWG bearing the risk in relation to costs above the fixed price limit.
North Quay will be the worksite for the new station. When works are completed the site will be handed back to CWG to enable development of North Quay, which already has planning permission.
About Crossrail
Crossrail Ltd became a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London on 5 December 2008.
Since the Crossrail Bill received Royal Assent on 22 July 2008, Crossrail has been moving rapidly ahead. Progress includes the appointment of new Crossrail Board members, the appointment of a Non-Executive Chair and Chief Executive, preparatory works at Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road, and the start of the competitive tendering process to select the contractors.
Crossrail will run 118 km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21 km tunnels under central London connecting key London stations including Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf and on to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the East.
When complete, the railway will operate 24 trains per hour in each direction through Central London during peak times. This will provide substantial new passenger capacity and crowding relief, particularly on the Central and Piccadilly lines.
Crossrail will be the biggest construction project in Europe and will provide a major boost to the UK economy during the current economic climate as the Jubilee Line Extension did during the early 1990s. At the height of construction in 2013/14, up to 14,000 people will be employed to build Crossrail.
About Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke plc is the largest privately owned construction solutions company in the UK. The Group has grown at an extraordinary rate since it was founded over thirty years ago. It now has significant operations across three international Hubs - Europe, the Middle East and South Asia and Australasia. Laing O'Rourke seeks to work with the world's most prestigious clients to deliver a broadened construction and related services offering across the entirety of the value chain. It focuses on delivering project management excellence throughout the development lifecycle, from earliest concept to final decommissioning of major infrastructure and built assets.
About Canary Wharf Group
The prime business function of CWG is the building and leasing of Grade A office and retail space at its 97 acre estate in East London ("the Estate"). Over the last twenty years it has constructed more office space in London than any other property group totalling over 14 million sq. ft of commercial space. The development now comprises 33 office buildings and over 200 shops, bars and restaurants within four retail malls. It also has a conference and banqueting centres, two Docklands Light Railway stations, a Jubilee line station, car parks and approximately 20 acres of landscaped open spaces.
CWG owns completed properties amounting to approximately 7.9 million sq ft. CWG also owns and controls the retail space (approximately 740,000 sq ft), Wintergardens (40,000 sq ft) and public parking, (approx. 1.5m sq ft) as well as the roads (totalling 6.8 km) and parks and open spaces on the Estate (totalling 382,900 sq ft) in addition to land held for future development. It is through this ownership and the management of the entire 97 acre Estate that CWG controls the integrity of the Estate which enhances the value of the whole.
