Kvaerner Whitehall, a JV between Kvaerner Construction and its sister company, Kvaerner Rashleigh Weatherfoil, has signed a design and construction contract for a £340 million PFI project to redevelop and modernise the MoD’s HQ in Whitehall, London.
The design and refurbish contract has been agreed with Modus Services plc, the PFI Special Purpose Company which includes Amey, Macquarie Infrastructure, Hyder and Innisfree.
The major project to redevelop the early 1950s Grade 1 listed building includes the decanting of several thousand MoD staff into alternative premises while work to create a modern and flexible working environment is in progress. To accommodate such a large number of people Kvaerner will renovate and upgrade four existing London office buildings - two of which are Grade II listed.
MoD staff from Whitehall will be transferred into these buildings by Kvaerner with minimum disruption to work. This phase of the work is scheduled for completion by mid 2001 by which time all staff will have vacated Main Building and the one million square feet of main reconstruction work will be able to commence.
The interiors will be stripped, upgraded and refurbished with areas of historic and architectural interest being protected and restored. All M&E services will be replaced with modern energy efficient installations and an extensive IT infrastructure will be installed. Open-plan areas, which maximise the use of floor space, will replace the existing small modular offices and the building will ultimately be able to accommodate approximately 20 per cent more staff than at present.
On completion of the upgrade at the end of 2004, Kvaerner will hand over the building to Modus and staff will be returned to Whitehall. Facilities services at Whitehall will be managed for the remainder of Modus’ 30-year contract by Amey, which has sub-contracted the mechanical and electrical maintenance services to Kvaerner Rashleigh Weatherfoil.
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