Throughout construction, Balfour Beatty will look to spend £500mln with local businesses and supply chain partners and will set up an 'Operator Skills Hub' to provide innovative training programmes to upskill plant operators and inspire the next generation of talent in the UK. Following an 18-month period of detailed design and pre-construction planning, subject to Development Consent Order, Notice to Proceed from the Department for Transport is expected in 2024. The full value of the contract will then go into Balfour Beatty's order book, with main construction scheduled to commence shortly after.