Shearwater Regulatory News (SWG)

2 May 2006 07:01

Scott Wilson Group plc02 May 2006 For immediate release Tuesday, 2 May 2006 Scott Wilson awarded Edinburgh Airport Rail Link contract Scott Wilson Group plc ("Scott Wilson" or "the Company"), the internationalconsultancy offering integrated professional services for civil and structuralengineering projects, transportation, environmental studies and institutionaldevelopment, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded amulti-disciplinary design contract for the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link ("EARL")by tie limited. EARL is a national project to create direct rail services to andfrom Edinburgh Airport. The Contract is worth approximately £18 million over the duration of theproject, and is subject to Royal Assent. Scott Wilson's team will also consistof Halcrow and Turner & Townsend, together with Donaldson Associates Limited,who have been appointed as geotechnical consultant and have subsequently had thecontract novated to Scott Wilson. The contract commences in May 2006, with the design segment running to December2006. Scott Wilson's team will then provide technical support for the remainderof the project including supervision of railway systems work and theconstruction of two bored tunnels beneath Edinburgh Airport. The estimatedcapital cost of the scheme is between £550 and £650 million. The scheme requires legislation to authorise its construction by way of an Actto be passed by the Scottish Parliament, a process which started in March thisyear with the introduction of a private bill to the Parliament. The legislativeprocess is expected to be completed by early 2007, with construction of the raillink beginning thereafter. The rail link is planned to be operational during2011. The Link is planned to connect stations throughout Scotland to the airport. Railpassengers and airport users will be able to travel on trains to and fromEdinburgh, and destinations to the north, west and the south including Glasgow,Stirling, Perth, Fife, Inverness, Dundee and Aberdeen. The proposals for theairport rail link include the construction of a railway station at the mainterminal at Edinburgh Airport and trains would arrive and depart via a tunnel.More information on EARL can be found at www.earlproject.com. Geoff French, Chairman of Scott Wilson, commenting, said: "Today's award is the second significant major contract win announced sinceScott Wilson's stock market listing on 15 March 2006, and follows the Crossrailaward announced on 29 March. "We are delighted to have secured this second major multi-disciplinary railwayproject in such a short space of time. We look forward to working with tie,their partners and stakeholders, to deliver a successful EARL project." Keith Wallace, Chief Executive of Scott Wilson Railways, commenting, said "We are delighted to have retained our position on this world class project,which dates back to our conceptual studies of 1999. This reinforces our strategyof pursuing major Clients and projects, of which tie and EARL are keycomponents." For further information please contact: Scott Wilson Group plc www.scottwilson.comGeoff French, Chairman 01256 310 200Stephen Kimmett, Finance DirectorKeith Wallace, Chief Executive Scott Wilson Railways Smithfield 020 7360 4900Reg Hoare 07831 406117Katie Hunt 07884 494112 Print resolution images are available for the media to view and download from www.vismedia.co.uk Notes to editors: Scott WilsonScott Wilson is an international consultancy offering integrated professionalservices for civil and structural engineering projects, transportation,environmental studies and institutional development. It was ranked as the ninthlargest UK-owned engineering consultant by fee income for the calendar year 2005in the New Civil Engineer 2006 annual survey. The Company earned approximately 67 per cent. of its revenue over the threeyears to 30 April 2005 in the UK and approximately 33% overseas. The Company hasan existing network of international offices controlled through six regionalcentres in Warsaw, Johannesburg, Dubai, Delhi, Bangkok and Shanghai/Hong Kong. Scott Wilson has strong relationships with UK government departments,non-governmental agencies, multinational companies, national governments andsupranational funding bodies. In the financial year ended 30 April 2005, 32 ofthe Company's clients were billed over £1 million and the top 55 of theCompany's clients (which exceeded 1,500 in total) accounted for aggregate feesin excess of £100 million. Important clients and partners include Network Rail, the Highways Agency,Balfour Beatty, Alfred McAlpine, Cross London Rail Links, English Partnerships,Defence Estates and the Roads Service Northern Ireland. Well known projects on which Scott Wilson has worked include The Eden Project,Bangkok Airport, Manchester Airport, Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower, the UK WestCoast Route Modernisation and Victoria Station and a number of LondonUnderground stations. About tietie limited, the organisation responsible for the delivery of the project, is aprivate company, wholly owned by the City of Edinburgh Council. tie provides theprocurement, project management and finance management capability to ensure thata number of major transport related projects are delivered. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange