Costain Regulatory News (COST)

9 Dec 2005 09:54

Laing(John) PLC09 December 2005 JOHN LAING CONFIRMS BID FOR M25 PROJECT John Laing plc ("Laing") confirms the formation of an Anglo-French consortium tobid for the UK Highways Agency's 30 year DBFO concession for phased improvementand long term management of London's strategic orbital route, the M25. John Laing, through Laing Roads, will be one of five equity investors in theconsortium, and will play an active role in bid development for the contract.The other equity investors will be ASF (Autoroutes du Sud de la France),Carillion plc ("Carillion"), Costain Group PLC and VINCI SA. The successful bidder will be responsible for the phased widening of 63 miles ofthe M25 to four lanes in each direction, valued at around GBP1.5 billion. It will also be responsible for the future operation and maintenance of the M25and parts of the motorways and other strategic routes that intersect it, and foroperating the Dartford River Crossing, over a 30 year period, valued at aroundGBP100 million per year. The DBFO company will collect toll revenue from theDartford Crossing on behalf of the Department for Transport. Pre-qualification documentation will be submitted in January. The consortium membership brings together the full range of operationalexpertise currently employed to maintain and operate the route. Carillion andMouchel Parkman are current holders of the Area 5 operations and maintenancecontract, whilst the VINCI Group and Jacobs-Babtie maintain the DartfordCrossings which will fall within the scope of the M25 DBFO. The constructionworks will be carried out by a joint venture led by Costain and VINCI. Andy Friend, Chief Executive of Laing, commented: "The M25 concession will be the most significant roads opportunity competed inthe UK market in 2006 and we are delighted to be able to play our part in theformation of such a strong consortium" For further information, please contact: Finsbury GroupEd Orlebar/Faeth Birch/Robin WalkerTel: 020 7251 3801 Notes to Editors John Laing plc John Laing is the UK's listed market leader in PPP/ PFI infrastructure projects.It currently invests in 49 PPP/ PFI projects in the rail, roads andaccommodation sectors, 33 of which are operational. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange