Halton District Council and the Merseylink consortium have announced the financial closing of the Mersey Bridge, a project awarded to the consortium which FCC formed part of in June 2013. This translates into a 30-year contract signed between Merseylink and Halton District Council, covering the financing and other aspects that will allow for an immediate start to the works and ensures that the project will remain live for the next thirty years.

The construction phase of the project, including the land, is valued at 725 million euros. The total revenue from the project over the next 30 years is estimated at around 2.419 billion euros.

The Mersey Bridge project includes the design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of a bridge over the River Mersey in Liverpool, UK, to alleviate the current traffic problems in the area.

FCC was awarded the contract through the consortium it formed part of for both the concession and the construction in June 2013. The concessionary company includes partners such as Bilfinger, Sanef and Macquarie, while FCC will be joined by Samsung CT and Kier in the construction phase.

The project consists of the construction of a new crossing over the River Mersey in the Liverpool area of a total length of over two kilometres located to the east of the Silver Jubilee Bridge (opened in the 1960s) and which has serious traffic problems. The new bridge will be 2.13 kilometres long and will be used by around 80,000 vehicles a day. In addition, large-scale urban remodelling will also be carried out on the access motorways to the bridge, with 7 kilometres of roads of which around one kilometre is made up of newly built viaducts.

Employment and contract opportunities

On the ground, the project is already creating new jobs in addition to contract and investment opportunities in the North West region.

Merseylink is ready to announce a series of initial contracts representing a total amount of 12.1 million euros, the majority of which correspond to businesses in the North West.

The project is set to create huge economic, transport-related and social benefits for the region, including: 470 permanent jobs with full-time equivalent contracts in the construction works, 4,640 direct and indirect permanent jobs, 74.88 million euros a year in Gross Value Added deriving from the new jobs, before 2030, and more reliable journey times, reduced by up to 10 minutes in rush hour.

The Mersey Bridge will be one of the biggest infrastructure initiatives in Great Britain over the coming years. Last year, Mersey Gateway was identified as one of the 40 top-priority projects for the British Government in the National Infrastructure Plan and it has been hailed by KPMG as one of the "100 most important infrastructure projects in the world".