Shearwater Regulatory News (SWG)

10 Dec 2008 07:00



10 December 2008

Wuxi Joint Venture Expands Presence West of Shanghai

Scott Wilson Group plc ("Scott Wilson" or "the Group"), the multi-disciplinary international design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments, today announces the formation of a strategic joint venture with the Wuxi Communication and Planning Design Company.

The joint venture, Wuxi Scott Wilson Consulting Engineering Ltd, is majority owned by Scott Wilson and will capitalise on the westward movement of international companies from higher-cost Shanghai and Suzhou. Wuxi Scott Wilson is strongly positioned to provide business consultancy and project management services for infrastructure development; property-related services including environmental, masterplanning, urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, electrical & mechanical engineering; and tourism-related services.

Wuxi is a key secondary city west of Shanghai with a population of two million.

The Wuxi Communication and Planning Design Company (WXCPDC), established in 1986 and privatised in 2004, operates as a transport design institute. WXCPDC specialises in municipal roads and engineering and has over 50% of the municipal works market in Wuxi and its vicinity. It holds the full suite of transport related design licences as well as a licence to practice landscape architecture. 

Hugh Blackwood, Group Chief Executive, comments: "Following a recent visit to Wuxi, I am confident the Wuxi Scott Wilson joint venture supports our objective to respond to the rapidly expanding market west of Shanghai, particularly infrastructure, the property sector, and environmental and business consultancy services. We are delighted to be the first major foreign design company to enter the Wuxi market."

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Notes

Scott Wilson Group plc, with over 6,600 members of staff, is a multi-disciplinary international design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments. The Group has doubled in size over the past few years and from its UK headquarters currently controls a worldwide network of 80 offices.

Scott Wilson has operated in virtually every Chinese province and municipality since the mid-1980s. Employing over 1000 staff in China, Scott Wilson now operates in ten centres including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhengzhou, in addition to the new presence in Wuxi. 

The announcement of Wuxi Scott Wilson follows the Group's formation of the Chongqing Scott Wilson joint venture in April of this year which is actively engaged in property and environmental projects and opportunities in western and south western China. 

www.scottwilson.com