Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
06 May 2003


BALFOUR BEATTY AWARDED £148 MILLION M25 WIDENING CONTRACT BY THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY


Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
announces today that the Highways Agency has awarded the £148 million contract
to widen the M25 between Junction 12 (the M3 Interchange) and Junction 15 (the
M4 Interchange) to Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering.  The contract also includes
the construction of the Stage 2 Heathrow Terminal 5 Spur Road.

Commenting on the award today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Mike Welton,
said:  'We are delighted to be given this opportunity to ease congestion on what
is probably the busiest section of motorway in Europe.  Many of the key people
who were responsible for our highly-successful widening scheme from Junctions 8
to 10 will again be involved and we are confident that in partnership with the
Highways Agency and Heathrow Airport Ltd we can do a first-class job.'

The project will begin in early 2004 and have a duration of approximately two
years.  Widening will be within the existing boundary and will be carried out in
two sections.  The first section, between Junction 12 to south of Junction 14,
will be completed first, followed by the remainder to the M4 Interchange.
During construction the existing number of lanes will be maintained during the
day, with any necessary lane closures taking place at night.  The M25 Spur, some
1 kilometre in length, will provide a dedicated free-flow connection to Terminal
5 via an altered Junction 14.

Balfour Beatty has a substantial amount of successful experience of working in
the south-west quadrant of the M25 in terms of both original construction and
subsequent widening.  It was responsible for the original construction of the
southern end of the Junctions 12-15 segment and, subsequently, for its widening
in the late 1980s.



Enquiries to:

Tim Sharp
Tel: [phone]
www.balfourbeatty.com



Notes to Editors


1. Balfour Beatty is one of the UK's leading civil engineering
contractors with a major business in road construction, widening and
maintenance.

2. Balfour Beatty's current road construction contracts include the
£485.5 million Birmingham Northern Relief Road (in joint venture) and the £87
million A120 in Essex.

3. Balfour Beatty owns and operates three Design, Build, Finance and
Operate roads under the government's PPP/PFI initiative.  These are the A1-M1
Link in Yorkshire, the A30/35 in Devon and Dorset and the A50 between Derby and
Stoke.

4. Balfour Beatty is preferred bidder for the M77 DBFO contract in
Scotland worth £132 million.  Financial close on this scheme is imminent.

5. Balfour Beatty, through its subsidiary, RCS, is one of the UK's
leading road maintainers.  It is responsible for some £200 million of annual
maintenance works for the Highways Agency Areas 2, 3 and 4 and for local
authorities in North Yorkshire, Hampshire, Worcestershire and Bedfordshire
amongst others.

6. Balfour Beatty has been selected by the Highways Agency for its first
ever two Early Contractor Involvement contracts.  These are the A303 Stonehenge
project valued at some £150 million and the £132 million A3 project at Hindhead.


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