This is a key stage in the development of the second Tyne vehicle tunnel.

Between now and the signing of the final contract later this year the project sponsors, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (TWPTA), will undertake negotiations with the Preferred Bidder to ensure the new crossing is delivered in accordance with its aims and objectives.

TWPTA Chair Councillor David Wood said: “The New Tyne Crossing is vital to the prosperity of the people of North and South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear and other communities along the A19.

“Congestion at the existing tunnel is holding back economic development along the A19 corridor and creating a poor environment for local communities.

“The New Tyne Crossing is a major and complex civil engineering project which will complete the dualling of the A19, a strategic road that links the North East’s three largest conurbations.

“I am delighted to announce Bouygues as the Preferred Bidder Designate for the New Tyne Crossing.

“Their commitment to the project to date has been impressive and we look forward to signing the Preferred Bidder Letter with them, negotiating the Final Contract, working with them on the construction of the second vehicle tunnel, and being their partner for the 30 years of the Concession.”

The New Tyne Crossing is being developed in partnership with all the Tyne and Wear local authorities, especially North Tyneside and South Tyneside Councils.

Ends 

Issued on behalf of the New Tyne Crossing by Bradley O’Mahoney Public Relations. Media Contacts: Richard Simpson 07821 537 106 and Felicity Amer 0191 281 8833.

Media Contact for Bouygues TP: François Gindre (direct) +33 1 30 60 29 02 (mobile) +33 6 61 30 00 17

www.newtynecrossing.info

Note to Editors: Preferred Bidder Designate is an interim description of the consortium, which has been successful in the tendering process. A Preferred Bidder Letter outlining areas of mutual understanding is expected to be signed by the TWPTA and the Preferred Bidder Designate within the next few weeks. A pre-development agreement will be drawn up to allow the Preferred Bidder to undertake site investigation works prior to signing of the Concessionaire contract, scheduled for the end of August 2007.

The unsuccessful bidding consortium was the Balfour Beatty-led Connect North East. It has been placed on stand-by in the event of an agreement not being reached between the TWPTA and Bouygues Travaux Publics. Media Contact for Connect North East is Tim Sharp: 0207 216 6884.

Bouygues Travaux Publics is part of Bouygues Construction, which has operations on five continents, whose core business activities are building, civil works and electricity/maintenance. The Group employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.

Bouygues Travaux Publics’ projects are based on the design and execution of complex operations, drawing on three areas of competence: finance, large-scale project management and expertise in highly technical operations.

Its sales in 2006 were €601 million and its workforce numbered 2,800.

Currently, Bouygues Travaux Publics’ business is built around underground works, civil engineering, maritime projects, structural projects and linear projects. 70% of the company’s business is performed outside France.
 In 2005, Bouygues Travaux Publics worked on fifteen contracts worth more than €150 million. There were major handovers, such as the A28 motorway linking Rouen and Alençon, several sections on the LGV Est high-speed rail link, line 2 of the Toulouse Metro, the 15 kilometre-long Ferden tunnel under the Swiss Alps and the 5.2 km Lok Ma Chau tunnel in Hong Kong, and the second phase of the Istria motorway in Croatia (42 km).

The company was also appointed preferred bidder for the negotiation of a record contract, the construction of an 80 km rail link in South Africa. It was awarded the Geneva-Annecy stretch of the A41 motorway contract, comprising four viaducts and a twin-tube 3.1 km-long tunnel, phase 3 of the M5 motorway in Hungary and a nuclear power plant at Olkiluoto in Finland.

Other large-scale projects still under way included the Tsin Yi viaduct in Hong Kong, the Masan Bay Bridge in South Korea, the Tangiers-Mediterranean Port in Morocco, the Maurice Lemaire tunnel in the Vosges region of eastern France, and the Laser Mégajoule nuclear test centre with the most powerful laser in the world, near Bordeaux.

The Bouygues Consortium includes North East companies Parsons Brinckerhoff (design); Wood Holmes Group (community and partnering); Hall Construction (structures and waste disposal); Clancy Dowcra (utilities); Faber Maunsell (design, highways); Insite Environments (design, landscape and public art); Colas (pavements and traffic management); Able UK (dry dock facilities).

To view the Report to the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority go to: http://62.231.150.51/wps/wcm/resources/file/eb38520c1da55b1/9%20-%20Final%20Public%20PTA%20Report%20BAFO.pdf