Balfour Beatty wins contract for the UK's largest Covid testing lab

British construction firm Balfour Beatty has secured a contract to build a new Covid-19 testing facility in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire - set to be the largest of its kind in the UK.

The 225,000 square-foot facility is set to be built on behalf of the NHS Test and Trace to allow for the UK's healthcare system to add hundreds of thousands of potential Covid tests to the UK's daily capacity, which could enable a quicker response to the pandemic.

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Projects under construction include a series of laboratory "lines" as well as the associated welfare and waste management facilities to support these essential operations.

The lab is being built using a modular approach which should enable the facility to commence testing processes while parts of the facility are still being built.

Balfour's Kilpatrick arm will provide an assortment of mechanical and electrical works for the facility.

To date, the UK construction firm has completed two other major laboratory projects - the Manchester Engineering Campus Development and a temporary holdout at the NHS's Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow.

Balfour also collaborated with MSite last December to create an app for increased workplace digitalisation and health and safety monitoring during the height of the pandemic.

The construction sector has proven to be an unstable place to work, particularly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Balfour has initiated schemes to help young people gain access to work within the industry.

It claimed it would see a 30% increase to numbers based on 2019 levels and are part of a wider initiative called the 5% Club - a loose collection of employers committed to 'earn & learn' roles for young people who want to complete further education programmes while earning vital experience in a given field.

“We are immensely proud to be bringing together our expertise from across the Group, to play a key role in delivering the next generation of diagnostic facilities," said Mark Bullock, Balfour's CEO for UK Construction Services.

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He added: "Once complete, the facility will be the largest of its type in the UK and one of the largest in Europe; representing a significant investment in the UK’s pandemic response infrastructure for the future and integral to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in the immediate term.”

Work on the Trace and Test lab has already commenced with completion expected at some point "later this year."

At peak production, it is expected a workforce of at least 600 will be present on site.

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