Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
17 January 2007


17 January 2007


                BALFOUR BEATTY SELECTED AS PREFERRED BIDDER FOR
                ===============================================
                        £152 MILLION PPP HOSPITAL IN FIFE
                        =================================

      Further addition to the Group's significant PPP healthcare portfolio
      --------------------------------------------------------------------


Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
announces today that Consort, its specialist PPP healthcare subsidiary, has been
selected as preferred bidder for the £152 million Fife General Hospital and
Maternity Services PPP project by NHS Fife.

Under the 30-year concession, Consort will provide a new wing to Victoria
Hospital in Kirkcaldy, including 11 operating theatres, an emergency care
centre, 13 wards, surgical and medical assessment units, a maternity unit, a
women and children's unit, day intervention, critical care, coronary care and
renal and dialysis facilities.

The chosen location of the new wing will minimise disruption to the existing
hospital and facilitate the transfer of patients to the new facilities when they
are completed.

Commenting on the appointment today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler,
said:

'This project presents an opportunity to transform healthcare delivery in Fife.
We believe that our design, developed in full consultation with NHS Fife's
project team and healthcare professionals, will create a first-class, efficient
facility with an improved environment for patients and staff that will also make
a high-quality addition to the local built environment. We look forward to
delivering the expertise gained in working on a wide range of other healthcare
PPP projects to the benefit of the people of Fife.'


NHS Fife Chairman, Professor Jim McGoldrick said:

'The selection of Consort as the preferred bidder is a key step in the
multi-stranded strategy for the future provision of health services in Fife. We
have been working with local people since 2002 to develop and bring to reality
our vision for future services. That vision will become a reality in 2010.

'We are delighted to make this announcement today and look forward to taking
this forward with Consort who are as committed as we are to delivering modern,
high quality services.'

The construction of the new wing at Victoria Hospital is part of the long term
strategy for the co-location of specialist in-patient and emergency services on
one site. Future developments outside the PPP project include for the
re-configuration of services at Victoria and Queen Margaret Hospitals once the
new wing has been completed.

The construction of the new wing, including all building services, will be
carried out by a joint venture of Balfour Beatty Group companies, Balfour Beatty
Construction and Haden Young. The project is due for completion in 2010.

The maintenance and facilities management for the scheme will be provided by
Haden Building Management, another Balfour Beatty subsidiary.

Balfour Beatty Capital, the Group's infrastructure investment arm, will invest
£7.5 million of equity in the project, as will HSBC, its financial partner.

This is Balfour Beatty's ninth major hospital scheme under the UK government's
Public Private Partnership programme. Balfour Beatty's committed equity
investment in healthcare is now some £110 million, including those projects at
preferred bidder stage.

Balfour Beatty is a leader in the UK PPP market with well over £300 million
committed investment in 23 operational projects and a further six at preferred
bidder stage.

                                      ENDS

Enquiries to:
Tim Sharp
Tel: [phone]

www.balfourbeatty.com


Notes to Editors

1. Balfour Beatty's existing PPP hospital schemes are as follows:

- £90 million Durham Hospital                              (opened 2001)
- £220 million Edinburgh Royal Infirmary                   (opened 2003)
- £280 million University College London Hospital          (Phase 1 opened 2005)
- £116 million Royal Blackburn Hospital                    (opened 2006)
- £553 Birmingham New Hospitals                            (under construction;  
                                                           due to open 2011)

- £300 million Pinderfields Hospital                       (preferred bidder)
- £120 million Salford Hospital                            (preferred bidder)
- £60 million Tameside Hospital                            (preferred bidder).


2. Balfour Beatty is the construction partner to Canmore Partnership Ltd in the
PPP concession for the new Victoria and Stobhill Hospitals in Glasgow. This
project, which began in August 2006, involves some £180 million of design and
construction work and is due for completion in spring 2009. In Glasgow, Balfour
Beatty is also building the new mental health secure unit at Stobhill and the
new Beatson Institute cancer research facility at Garscube.

3. Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction and services group,
well positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant growth
potential. Its partnerships with public and private customers generate secure,
long-term income. Its financial position, with significant net cash and with
strong operating cash flows, offers continuing flexibility to add additional
capacity and expertise to the business mix and to make appropriate investments
in PPP/PFI and other long-term growth opportunities.

It is the leading concession company and contractor in Scotland.





                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange