Balfour Beatty has announced it has been awarded an £80 million contract to design and construct a 19-storey building in central London for Urbanest, a leading supplier of student accommodation in the capital.

The scheme which is situated on Westminster Bridge Road, in close proximity to the South Bank Conservation Area and the Westminster World Heritage site, will provide sought-after higher education student accommodation across 1,092 bedrooms. The development will also accommodate a new sixth-form college, a health suite with swimming pool and affordable office space.

The accommodation floors will include photovoltaic panels and combined heat and power technology to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, one of the industry’s highest accolades for sustainable best practice in building design, construction and operation. Innovative modular off site construction techniques will be utilised to create bathroom pods and a cladding system, both of which will result in a quicker and safer construction programme.

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Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Andrew McNaughton said: "The dynamic student accommodation market is a key growth area for Balfour Beatty around the world. We look forward to bringing our knowledge and expertise of sustainable construction methods to this project, our fifth prestigious scheme for Urbanest, in the heart of the capital.

"In partnership with Urbanest, we have committed to a range of employment and training initiatives including the creation of 40 apprenticeships to ensure the project generates tangible benefits for the local community."

Main construction works are due to commence this summer with completion in time for the beginning of the 2015 academic year. At construction peak, the project will employ 500 people on site.

(CD/MH)