Skanska Construction achieved financial close today with Norwich Union Public Private Partnership Fund (NUPPP) on a £15 million contract to build a PFI school in Redbridge, Ilford, Essex for Redbridge Borough Council.
The contract to design, build and fit out the 1,450-place Oaks Park High School in Barkingside follows a recent £23 million education package from neighbouring Newham Council, also won in consortium with NUPPP.
Skanska’s innovative programme involves developing the scheme in a number of related phases, enabling facilities to become available for use by the school at the beginning of next year with the full completion by autumn 2002.
The project requires Skanska’s close liaison with the school to ensure that work causes minimum disruption to the pupils starting this September who will use temporary facilities at the new site.
Skanska will draw on the team involved in its successful PFI work, which has seen five prisons built in five years as well as two hospitals. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital was handed over in November 2000 while HMP Dovegate was finished in May, two months ahead of schedule. Skanska’s current PFI portfolio also includes the £340 million redevelopment and modernisation of MOD Whitehall.