VolkerTrenchless Solutions and VolkerFitzpatrick appointed to Laing O’Rourke’s integrated delivery team to deliver National Grid's Great Grid Partnership

VolkerTrenchless Solutions and VolkerFitzpatrick have been appointed as Discipline Specialists in Laing O'Rourke's integrated delivery team to deliver the Great Grid Partnership. The integrated team comprises seven specialists selected based on their capability and experience of delivering transmission projects.

National Grid’s Great Grid Partnership programme forms part of a supply chain framework which will support infrastructure projects up to 2030 and beyond.

We will be delivering the civils scope associated with onshore cable routes for any applicable projects that Laing O’Rourke is selected to deliver, including enabling works, trenching, ducting and horizontal directional drilling.

The Great Grid Partnership is a collaborative enterprise delivery model which aims to coordinate the planning and execution of projects. It will allow each supplier and National Grid to pool their resources, skills, insights and experience to deliver faster and more economically – ensuring value for money for consumers and benefiting local communities with a lasting impact.

Carl Trowell, President, Strategic Infrastructure, National Grid said: “The Great Grid Partnership announcement is another significant and exciting milestone in the delivery of The Great Grid Upgrade – the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in decades. The scale and pace of this upgrade requires us to unite as an industry and to think and act differently.

“This Great Grid Partnership is a ground-breaking initiative from National Grid that places our supply chain partners at the heart of our infrastructure upgrade programme. All our chosen partners have an established history of successful collaboration in delivering major projects and enabling innovation to thrive.

“By sharing best practice and collaborating across nine of our critical major ASTI infrastructure projects, we will set the gold-standard for future infrastructure projects in terms of driving innovation, shoring up capacity across the skills base, operating responsibly and sustainably and ultimately in getting the best value for consumers.”

Richard Offord, chief executive officer of VolkerWessels UK, said: “Building on our longstanding relationship with Laing O’Rourke, I am delighted they have chosen VolkerFitzpatrick, and VolkerTrenchless Solutions as Discipline Specialists within their Integrated Delivery Team as part of the Great Grid Partnership. This is a fantastic programme of strategic national importance, and we are proud to be helping the UK meet its net zero ambitions. We will bring our onshore cable route expertise, along with our reputation for collaborative working, to efficiently deliver the programme whilst also focussing on social value throughout the supply chain and the communities in which we work.”

Richard Offord, chief executive officer of VolkerWessels UK, said: “Building on our longstanding relationship with Laing O’Rourke, I am delighted they have chosen VolkerFitzpatrick, and VolkerTrenchless Solutions as Discipline Specialists within their Integrated Delivery Team as part of the Great Grid Partnership. This is a fantastic programme of strategic national importance, and we are proud to be helping the UK meet its net zero ambitions."

Investment in the UK’s electricity network will contribute an average of £18.4bn to GDP and support around 220,000 jobs each year between 2024 and 2035.