The U.K. kicked off one of Europe’s biggest transportation projects with $8.6 billion in publicly funded contracts awarded on July 17 for the first phase of the 565-kilometer HS2 high speed railroad between London and points in northeast and northwest England. But for Britain’s other megaprogram, the 3,320-MW Hinkley Point C nuclear-power-plant project, which includes private financing, trouble is brewing as construction begins.
The first-phase HS2 contracts, to cover 225 km of track and 47 km of tunnels between London and Birmingham, will launch the estimated $73-billion program’s three planned phases. The seven awarded contracts “will support 16,000 jobs … and will create opportunities for thousands of [companies],” said David Higgins, chairman of HS2 Ltd., the government project firm.