Kier awarded £120 million Birmingham highway maintenance contract extension until 2028

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Birmingham City Council has awarded Kier a direct contract worth £120 million to provide highway maintenance services across the city, with the contract valid until July 2028.

This agreement will extend an interim service contract covering highway maintenance and related operational services for Birmingham's road network.

Kier currently carries out this work through Birmingham Highways Limited, a subcontractor appointed by the council under the city's highway private finance initiative scheme.

The contract will be transferred from Birmingham Highways Limited to the council shortly before its current expiry date of 31 July 2026.

Birmingham City Council will then amend the agreement to extend it from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2028.

The council also has the option to extend the contract by nine months, pushing the possible end date to 30 April 2029.

Exercise of this option will depend on available funding and Kier's performance.

The contract is valued at £120 million (excluding VAT), or £144 million (including VAT), and was awarded through a direct award procedure.

The council stated that the extension was necessary after the Department for Transport withdrew support for continued funding of the Birmingham Highways private finance initiative project.

Birmingham City Council plans to procure a long-term replacement arrangement but requires an interim contract to maintain services during this process.

The authority said the extension would avoid disruption to highway maintenance and support its statutory public safety duties.

The award decision was made on 21 July 2026, and the contract is expected to be signed no earlier than 31 July.