THE Charles Brand Group, part of Lagan Specialist Contracting Group, has secured the contract from the Department of Infrastructure to build the £17 million Belfast tidal flood alleviation scheme.
The project - which aims to provide a long-term approach to tidal flood risk management in Belfast - involves the detailed design, and construction of more than five miles (8.5km) of flood defences from Cutters Wharf in the south of the city to Belfast Docks.
Charles Brand will work in conjunction with scheme designers Atkins to deliver the marine civil engineering scheme.
Niall McGill, managing director of Charles Brand, said: “We're delighted to have secured this prestigious scheme here in the heart of Belfast.
“Going back to the 1960s, Charles Brands’ legacy is steeped in marine civil engineering in Northern Ireland, and it's fitting that the Belfast tidal flood alleviation project commences near the recently completed Lagan gateway project in Stranmillis.”
The detailed design and construction stages are estimated to take at least 18 months to complete and it is expected that works will commence next spring.
It’s been two years since the Charles Brand name re-emerged into the local civil engineering sector, and building on its rich history of renowned civil engineering and marine infrastructure works, it has worked on some of UK and Ireland’s largest civil and marine projects.
In late 2019 it secured and successfully delivered a £9.5m contract for Thames-based trade enabler, DP World London Gateway - a state-of-the-art deep-sea port and rail terminal on the same site as an expansive land bank for the flexible and fast development of logistics facilities and warehouses.
Last year, Charles Brand successfully secured a road realignment scheme on the £75 billion HS2 Project outside London for the Align JV.
Closer to home, the firm has also diversified into the successful delivery of telecoms infrastructure, working in partnership with broadband supplier Fibrus in rolling out super fast connections to 50,000 homes across the north.
Niall McGill added: “The initial works were part of Project Acorn and in recent times we’ve embarked on the roll-out of the Stormont-backed multi-million pound Project Stratum for Fibrus.
“Our teams are working right across Northern Ireland and have been delivering up to nine miles of new broadband infrastructure every day. We’re focused on providing this new infrastructure to up to 100,000 homes and businesses in 2021.”
