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| Atkins wins contracts Atkins, the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy in Europe; the largest engineering consultancy in the UK; and the fourth largest design firm in the world, has been appointed by Scottish & Southern Energy to ensure two major UK dams – Pitlochry Dam and Clunie Dam - meet current reservoir design standards. In the UK, Scottish and Southern Energy serves over 6 million gas and electricity customers operating under the supply brands Scottish Hydro Electric, Southern Electric, SWALEC and Atlantic Electric and Gas. Pitlochry Dam, where Atkins' Dams and Reservoirs team will be engaged in designing, planning and eventually supervising works, is not only very important to Scottish & Southern Energy – it is also popular with members of the public, who visit to watch salmon manoeuvring up the fish ladder. To meet existing safety standards, it is necessary to raise the 'cut offs' on both sides of this 60-year-old dam to prevent water flowing around each side of the structure. Having carried out part of the design work, Atkins is now assisting with the planning application and public consultation, before supervising the works, which are scheduled for next winter. Atkins is also undertaking work on the Clunie Dam, a 30m-high concrete gravity dam, which was built in the 1950s and is situated to the north of Pitlochry. Its team has been commissioned to undertake the design and supervision of a site investigation contract. Atkins has also unveiled concept proposals for a 3 million sq ft (278, 700 sq m) mixed-use development in central Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital city, which will boast the country’s tallest building. The centrepiece of the scheme, which was commissioned by Pak Gulf Ltd and has a project value of approximately US$300 million, is a 30-storey, 350-bedroom world-class hotel topped by a panoramic restaurant capturing views of both the city and the mountainous skyline above it. Atkins was appointed by Pak Gulf in October to provide full multi-discipline consultancy services for this major scheme, including architectural design, structural and seismic engineering, highways engineering, landscape design, interior design and cost planning. The project is expected to take three years to complete, with the next stage seeing Atkins’ team working on the schematic and detailed design to enable the construction process to start in 2006. Lastly the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) has awarded Atkins a ground-breaking £15.4 million contract to support the facilities management of its diverse estate of more than 1, 700 London properties. Overall responsibility for the Metropolitan Police estate is vested in the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), the statutory organisation responsible for ensuring an efficient and effective police service for London. Day-to-day management of the police estate is delegated by the MPA to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Property Services Department. The estate comprises over 600 operational buildings and 1116 residential properties, used by 42, 000 police officers and staff, and is valued at circa £1.7 billion. Atkins Asset Management will develop a Facilities Management Information Centre (FMIC), which will deliver a range of cutting-edge services to support a performance and information-led approach to facilities management of the MPA's properties. This innovative approach will enable the MPA to better allocate its £70 million annual facilities management spend, driving value across the estate. Following implementation in 2006, the FMIC contract is for five years, with potential for a further five-year extension. The contract marks a step change in the way the MPA approaches the delivery of FM services across its £1.7bn estate, which encompasses a huge range of properties, including police stations, training establishments, HQ offices, residential, workshops and specialist properties across London. The FMIC's services will also provide information and services to support the delivery of the MPA estate strategy, "Building Towards the Safest City". This seeks to achieve greater alignment between property assets and the needs of front line policing. Over 60% of the total estate is being refreshed over the next five to 10 years. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |