In his first appearance in London since being named as Kvaerner Group’s chief executive, Kjell Almskog shovelled the last pieces of concrete into position on 21 Lombard Street to help Kvaerner Construction top out a prestigious City of London job.
Speaking at the ceremony, which was also performed by Derek Wanless, group chief executive of the NatWest Group, Mr Almskog said: "The NatWest Group is an institution which has a long history of working in the City and I am proud that Kvaerner has formed a partnership with it on this prestigious contract.
"We are proud at Kvaerner of our record and of our quality of work in the City. We are currently working on some two million square feet in the City of London and hope to develop this further.
"Sir John Egan, within his rethinking of construction, promotes what is already being implemented by Kvaerner. This job is an example of two companies working together in partnership from the very start of a project. A continual push for improvement in standards has also been seen on site where we are using many innovative methods of construction.
"At Kvaerner we place health and safety at work at the top of our agenda and are extremely proud of our record throughout the construction industry. At Lombard Street we have continued our quest for improvement and the safety record on site is a third better than the industry average."
The topping out marked the second anniversary of Kvaerner Trollope & Colls and NatWest Group Property working together on the 15,605 square feet, £22 million building. Once complete it will include basement car parking, mezzanine and lower ground floors as well as eight storeys of air conditioned offices.
The steel-framed building will eventually be covered in Portland Stone and granite-faced pre-cast units as well as anodised steel-and-aluminium window walling. Eight lifts, including two for vehicle parking are also included in the building which is due to be completed by the end of the year.
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