Balfour Beatty has announced that it has been chosen by Rolls-Royce as its non-fissile construction partner to help deliver the expansion of its Raynesway site.

Last June, Rolls-Royce revealed plans to double the size of its Submarines site in Derby to meet increased demand from the Royal Navy, spurred by the AUKUS announcement.

This March, Australia confirmed a £2.4 billion commitment over ten years to the UK SSN-AUKUS programme. This funding serves both to improve Rolls-Royce Submarines infrastructure and to contribute fairly to boat design expenses.

The increase in demand will see Balfour Beatty build new manufacturing and office facilities as well as the adjoining site infrastructure. The increase in work from the MOD will create 1,170 skilled roles at Rolls-Royce, across a range of disciplines including manufacturing and engineering.

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty’s Group Chief Executive, said: "Today's announcement marks an important step forward in ensuring Rolls-Royce has the infrastructure in place to support the strategic requirements of the MOD and the AUKUS programmes.

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"I'm delighted Balfour Beatty has been chosen to support this critical work for a project that will see us unite our unique multi-disciplinary expertise and experience in delivering large scale complex projects within live, operational nuclear environments."

Rolls-Royce Submarines Infrastructure Director Terry Meighan said: "We cannot deliver against our commitments to the MOD and the AUKUS programme on our own. It will require a strong and reliable supply chain bringing their expertise to enhance and enable the critical work we do. The selection of Balfour Beatty as our expansion construction partner is a prime example of that.

"Their experience in delivering major infrastructure, as well as their long history of complex project delivery in secure environments, were important factors in our decision. This is an exciting milestone as we grow our site and our business to meet the enhanced demand for our expertise."

Following the confirmation of WSP, a prominent multi-disciplinary professional services consultancy, being chosen as its non-nuclear design partner, the announcement has been made. Balfour Beatty and WSP will work closely over the coming decade to realise the expansion plans for the Raynesway site.

Rolls-Royce is currently supporting the existing Astute and Dreadnought boat build programmes through the delivery of reactor plant and associated components. Additionally, it provides frontline support across the world for reactor plant equipment from its Operations Centre in Derby and supports the submarines when in the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard and the naval bases at Devonport and Faslane.