The Highways England is to increase the number of firms it contracts to help it make its ambitious roads infrastructure plans a reality.
At present, the England has contracts in place with 24 firms, with 15 of these 'Tier 1' contractors, tasked with delivering on medium and large projects.
Now, with plans already in place to spend £7 billion on its new 'roads framework' the government body has confirmed it is to sign up several new Tier 1 contractors, with these to be added to the framework when it launched in the second quarter of next year.
Announcing the development to the Construction News website, Highways England chief executive Jim O'Sullivan said: "I have made no secret of the fact that I would like to add at least two to three tier one teams to our supply chain.
"There are major construction companies out there that could work in this sector and currently don't and we would be extremely interested in attracting those," he added.
Indeed, the chief explained that no previous experience in the road building sector is necessary, with prospective new contractors to be assessed on a range of factors, including their records in delivering value for money as well as their safety records.
This comes as the public sector body undergoes a rebranding, with its name being changed from the Highways Agency to Highways England.
