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 a pre-appointed consultancy in Balfour Beatty’s strategic design partnership, which aims to improve project procurement, design and delivery.
The partnership specialises in devising solutions for complex construction and infrastructure projects in areas such as health and safety, sustainability, social value and modern methods of construction.
Balfour Beatty first announced a partnership six years ago with Mott MacDonald, Atkins and WSP to promote collaborative working, but WSP is absent from the latest iteration of the alliance.
A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said the partnership was “continually evolving”.
“We review our partners every five years to ensure that our combined expertise and capability aligns with the upcoming market opportunities we are primed to deliver,” he said.
“For the second generation of the partnership, we have chosen to leverage Jacobs’ breadth of expertise in the energy sector, as we align our organisation to capitalise 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 revolutionise our industry and must be considered as the vehicle of choice to ensure that projects are procured, designed and delivered safer, faster, better and greener,” he said.
Jacobs vice president Bruce Chalmers said the partnership would enable closer integration of the firms’ collective expertise to drive efficiencies and create value-focused solutions.
“This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of UK infrastructure delivery, putting sustainability and different ways of working at the heart to build better outcomes for society and the environment,” he said.
WSP has been approached for comment.
