A major milestone in the construction work for phase two of Nottingham Express Transit has been reached following the news that over £70 million worth of contracts have now been placed with East Midlands based businesses. Of this £70 million, £43 million is with companies in Nottingham and its surrounding districts with £20 million to firms in the city alone.
The amount of construction work on the two new lines which will see Beeston, Chilwell and Clifton join the network continues to increase significantly ahead of a planned for opening in 2014.
Phil Hewitt, Chief Executive of Tramlink Nottingham, said: “When we bid for the contract, we made a strong commitment to work with local companies wherever possible and I’m delighted our construction partner, the Taylor Woodrow Alstom Joint Venture (TWA), has been able to deliver these positive results so far. It reflects a real willingness to work with the local community on all levels. We’re creating a tram network for the future of Nottingham and we want the local economy to benefit as far as possible whilst we’re building it.”
Cllr Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at Nottingham City Council, added: “The news that local businesses are benefiting from millions of pounds worth of contracts on the tram extension is not only a tremendous boost for Nottingham businesses but for the wider economic health of the whole region. It is particularly pleasing that this news swiftly follows the recent announcement that the NET contractor is employing nearly 1,000 – 35% of whom come from the city. Nearly £8m of funding has been raised so far by the Workplace Parking Levy to help contribute to the cost of transport projects in the city, including the tram extension, and already more than double that – nearly £20m – has been invested back into local firms through contracts generated by the tram construction alone.”