West Midlands civil engineering firms to be given insight into regional transport contracts

Construction and civil engineering contractors in the West Midlands will hear how they can tap into major transport projects worth hundreds of millions of pounds in the region.

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Midlands is holding a roundtable event with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on Tuesday, October 24, at Black Country Manufacturing Innovation Organisation in Dudley.

The event will give CECA Midlands members the opportunity to raise issues and concerns affecting the sector to help inform WMCA leaders when they represent the region in Westminster.

Businesses will also hear from the teams delivering Midland Metro, Cycle Routeway for Coventry and the Transport for West Midlands Station roll-out and will be given an insight on what contracts are still available and how to bid for them.

The roundtable will also include a presentation from the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator followed by a discussion on skills based on what CECA members need to support the sector in the coming years.

It will run from 10am until 12.30pm and will be followed by lunch.

Lorraine Gregory, director of CECA Midlands, said: “Of course, our members are concerned about the cancellation of the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 project as many would have been looking to secure contracts through that phase of the scheme.

“It’s important that the pipeline of work remains strong and this meeting will be extremely useful from that point of view. There were already some major transport improvements taking place across the West Midlands so we are delighted to be able to bring together our members with WMCA to discuss some key projects.

“The event will offer an insight into what contracts are available and how our members can bid for work and be part of the delivery of those projects.

“We’re also really pleased to be welcoming the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator to the event. We’ve spoken many times about the importance of future-proofing our workforce and this will be an opportunity to discuss what the issues are and, also, what the solutions might be.”

For more information or to book onto the event go to office@cecamidlands.co.uk