| Kitsons Environmental (Europe) Limited has been awarded separate contracts by ABB and Balfour Beatty following the Scottish and Southern Energy’s decision (SSE) to award two Thames Valley substation contracts worth a total of £24 million at Reading, Berkshire and Iver heath, Buckinghamshire to replace existing outdoor air-insulated switchgear (AIS) substations that are approaching the end of their service life.
Working for ABB as the Principal Contractor, Kitsons will be undertaking the removal of approximately 3000 sq metres of contaminated soil at Iver heath, as part of a large ground-works exercise’ which is being clean backfilled with hardcore to enable the erection of the GIS Building. Terrex is being used to ensure the clean areas remain thus. Works are due to be completed in April and are estimated to be valued in the region of £1M.
The separate contract with Balfour Beatty will involve the excavation and removal of asbestos contaminated soil to facilitate the cable runs for the sub-stations. Excavators and 20 yard open skips are being used as part of a wide portfolio of plant in works that are likely to run until September with a contract value of c£1M.
“The construction of the new 66kV substation at Iver Heath will be a streamlined process said Andrew Watson, Managing Director, Kitsons. He went on to say: “there is already sufficient space on the existing site. The challenge here is to get the new GIS substation on line as quickly as possible. The consortium with ABB and Balfour Beatty is placing a major emphasis on planning and logistics which we are privileged to be part of.”
The Iver Heath site is on the floodplain of the River Colne, so the building is being constructed on stilts to protect it against the predicted level of a once in 100 years flood. This approach has already proved a successful method of flood protection in UK installations. When complete, the new substation will provide six extra bays, taking the total number of bays to 24.
Kitsons are a leading multi disciplinary contractor providing Environmental, Access and Insulation services to a diverse clientele. The markets served include Nuclear, Power Generation, Petrochemical, Construction, Local Government, Retail, Finance, Defence and Property sectors. Trading from offices nationally, Kitsons are committed to delivering safe and quality services in accordance with our Suite of ISO 9001:2000, ISO14001 and ISO18001 accreditations.
Kitsons are part of the Silverdell Plc Group of companies. The Silverdell Group provide managed solutions for asbestos, industrial, remediation and environmental services for large and small projects nationally. Working with partners in public, private, construction and industrial markets, we are committed to creating an improved environment in which to live and work.
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