Babcock awards multi-million pound contract for development of shipbuilding facility in Rosyth

Defence firm Babcock has awarded a contract worth more than £30 million to Robertson Construction for the development of a new assembly hall in Rosyth.

The hall will initially be used for the Type 31 general purpose frigate programme.

100 positions will be supported in Scotland by the construction project.

Free from weather disruption, the facility will allow productivity gains thanks to improved access and digital connectivity.

Babcock marked the new assembly hall construction milestone by burying a commemorative time capsule at the new facility's site.

The UK Government's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace MP said: "Type 31 will be the beating heart of the Royal Navy's surface fleet - deterring aggression and maintaining the security of our interests across the world."

He added: "Not only does the Type 31 programme employ around 1,250 people throughout the United Kingdom, it includes the fantastic team in Rosyth.

"But it'll support the equal number of jobs within the wider UK supply chain."

John Howie, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for Babcock, said: "The Type 31 programme is re-energising the UKs’ maritime capability through innovative, next generation, UK ship design and build.

"The infrastructure investment underway at Rosyth builds on our exceptional heritage, experience and engineering insight, delivering a very real step change in capacity and capability for modern UK shipbuilding.

"It’s great to see the progress being made across the programme as we invest in new infrastructure and technologies to support the build phase of these fantastic new frigates.

"I know the team are looking forward to working closely with Robertson Construction on the development of the new Assembly Hall and with PEMA on the installation of the panel lines."

Regional Managing Director of Robertson Construction David Cairns said: "The provision of this facility will further enhance the delivery capabilities of Babcock from the Rosyth site.

"We are pleased to be selected as the delivery partner of choice for the new Assembly Hall."