Rolls-Royce has appointed Balfour Beatty as construction partner to double the size of an industrial complex used for key components of nuclear attack submarines.
The aerospace and defence manufacturer selected the contractor to deliver expansion of its Raynesway site in Derby in line with increased demand from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
New manufacturing and office facilities will be built on recently acquired land surrounding the existing Raynesway site in a project co-funded by the MoD and the Australian Department of Defence.
Derby City Council approved the plan last month.
In a trading update this morning, Balfour Beatty stated that it will take responsibility for a broad package of works to be delivered over the next eight years.
It did not disclose the value of the deal.
The work will include demolishing five buildings, infrastructure enabling works, building new manufacturing and office facilities, and redeveloping existing industrial facilities at Raynesway.
In March 2023, Rolls-Royce Submarines secured the deal to provide the nuclear reactor plants needed to power new Royal Navy (RN) submarines ordered under the AUKUS defence pact between Australia, the UK and the US.
Rolls-Royce Submarines employs more than 4,000 people to design, manufacture and provide in-service support for the pressurised water reactors that power every boat in the RN’s submarine fleet.
Defence procurement minister James Cartlidge said last year that the Raynesway expansion represented “crucial investment”.
He added that it was a “significant next step in ensuring we have the capacity, skills and nuclear expertise to support the UK’s current and future submarine programmes, including the next-generation nuclear-powered submarines for the UK and Australia through our AUKUS partnership”.
In March this year, Rolls-Royce named WSP as its design partner for the Raynesway expansion project.
In the trading update, Balfour Beatty said its business activity had aligned with expectations for the year to date.
