Kier Construction has been awarded a £121m joint venture contract to build a new technical training college on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Working through a 50:50 joint venture (JV) named 'Hercules' with Balfour Beatty, Kier will deliver the MoD's new Defence College of Technical Training at the former RAF Lyneham airbase in Wiltshire.

The new college will provide training facilities in one location for all three Armed Forces - the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force - for the first time in the UK.

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The scheme will provide single living accommodation for more than 1,100 trainees, purpose-built teaching facilities and a large outdoor training area. Much of the work will comprise upgrading and refurbishing existing buildings.

The scheme also includes a public museum and a new home for the Army's Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).

The contract has been awarded by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which manages and maintains land and property on behalf of the MoD.

DIO project leader, David Holmes, said: "This state-of-the-art tri-service facility will help us to support the Armed Forces by providing the best possible training facilities as they prepare for operations."

Hercules has committed to working with two organisations, the Forces Career Transition Partnership and Enterprise Works, which help ex-services personnel and those who have been injured to find employment - and to employing ex-military personnel to help deliver the scheme.

(CD/JP)