Balfour Beatty to deliver £1.4bn transport system at Los Angeles International Airport

A joint venture that includes British infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has secured a $1.95bn (c.£1.4bn) contract with America’s second biggest airport.

The brief will see Balfour Beatty and several other businesses design, build, finance, operate and maintain an ‘Automated People Mover’ at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

The joint venture, LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS), is made up of Balfour Beatty (30%) and construction engineering businesses Fluor Corporation (30 percent), Flatiron West (20%) and Dragados USA (20%).

Airport group Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) awarded the contract, which sets out the design and build of a 2.25-mile transport system, above ground, connecting LAX’s central terminal area to a not-yet-constructed rental car facility, six stations and a vehicle maintenance centre.

The system will operate as many as nine trains at once, along with moving walkways.

Balfour Beatty group chief exec Leo Quinn said: “This award at LAX, one of the world’s busiest airports, recognises our expertise and track record for delivering critical transportation infrastructure.”

LINXS equity members are: Balfour Beatty Investments (27%), Fluor Enterprises (27%), Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH (18%), ACS Infrastructure Development (18%) and Bombardier Transportation (Holdings) USA (10%).

The Automated People Mover project is Balfour Beatty Investments’ first major public-private partnership in the US civil infrastructure market.