VINCI Construction UK has been awarded a £30 million contract to build five additional student accommodation blocks at Swansea University Bay Campus.
The development will comprise of 543 rooms, which are being developed by St. Modwen in partnership with the University.
This latest phase of accommodation is scheduled to complete and open to new students in autumn 2017 while boosting the local economy and the building trades.
The accommodation follows the same traditional design concept as the previous phases delivered by VINCI Construction UK in September 2015.
The blocks range in scale from 69 beds over four storeys to 159 beds over eight storeys.
This latest phase of accommodation will bring the number of students at the new Campus to 2,000.
It includes some academic and student service spaces on the ground floor of one of the blocks and supplements the newly completed phases 1 and 2 which already provide student services that include a bar, gym, restaurants, Tesco, bank, crèche, student support and facilities management space.
Plans for a £2bn New Covent Garden Market site in central London, that will see the delivery of new homes and jobs, have now gone unconditional.
Joint venture development partners Vinci and St Modwen will now start the main construction enabling works this summer.
Work will involve transformation of the 57-acre site situated next to Vauxhall Cross in the Nine Elms regeneration zone.
The 10 year project will see the delivery of over 500,000 sq ft of new state-of-the-art market facilities across a 37 acre site which will house the 200 market businesses currently employing around 2,500 people.
The remaining 20 acres of land will contain three high quality residential neighbourhoods of 3,000 new homes, 135,000 sq ft of office space and 100,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and new community facilities, including shops, cafés and restaurants.
Bill Oliver, Chief Executive, St. Modwen and director of VSM, said: “This latest milestone enables the start on site of this major transformational project which is central to the Nine Elms Regeneration area.
“It will deliver a substantial positive economic impact in terms of employment, housing, and investment for London.”
Bruno Dupety, Chairman and Chief Executive of VINCI PLC and director of VSM, said: “We are looking forward to starting on site to get this exciting project underway.
“It will transform this area of central London for those who live and work there, in particular the market facilities.”
Finance Minister Jane Hutt has visited the site of Swansea University’s £450 million Bay Campus to see how EU funds are helping to boost investment and create jobs in the region.
The UK’s leading regeneration specialist, St. Modwen, is developing the campus with its construction partner, VINCI Construction UK, and Swansea University’s framework contractor, Leadbitter, a Bouygues UK company.
As well as driving forward research and innovation, the Bay Campus is currently providing significant local employment opportunities.
More than 1,100 workers have already been inducted to work on the site. There are over 200 sub-contracting opportunities, of which over 100 have already been let to companies from the Swansea Bay region and across Wales.
During her visit, the Finance Minister performed a topping out ceremony at one of the student residential buildings, which will be home to 900 students.
Jane Hutt said: “This is an excellent example of the benefits of EU funds in Wales, not only through helping to establish a leading research and innovation facility to drive forward our knowledge economy, but also the local employment and skills opportunities it is creating in the construction of the campus.
“I am also pleased to see how the Government and Welsh organisations are working with private investors, like the European Investment Bank, to develop funding solutions for infrastructure investments in Wales.”
The development, which will welcome its first students on site in September 2015, has benefitted from £50 million of Welsh Government, including £35 million from the European Regional Development Fund, and £60 million from the European Investment Bank.
Rupert Joseland, Regional Director for St. Modwen, said: “We’re delighted to mark the topping out of the first student residential building on site with a visit from the Finance Minister.
“The new £450 million Bay Campus is part of St. Modwen’s £2.2 billion linked development, alongside the £500 million employment site at Baglan Bay and £1 billion sustainable community at Coed Darcy in Neath.
“Our investment in this flagship project cements our long term commitment to driving social and economic regeneration across South Wales.”
VINCI Construction UK has been awarded a £30 million contract to build five additional student accommodation blocks at Swansea University Bay Campus. 
Swan PR 