Profile: German giant heads team

Published on Monday 21 March 2011 14:12

THE consortium that will build the new Forth bridge is led by German firm Hochtief Construction, one of the leading international providers of construction-related services, with more than 66,000 employees.

It is currently working on the new southern approach roads to the iconic Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, which are due for completion in 2015, as well as the Poole "Twin Sails" bridge in Dorset.

The Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors joint venture also includes Dragados, which is the largest construction contractor in Spain with a total sales of more than 5.3 million euros in 2010.

The firm worked on the Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, a cable-stayed bridge, in the late 1990s.

US-based American Bridge is currently working on the Oakland Bay Bridge in California, a self anchored suspension bridge which is due for completion in 2014

Morrison Construction is the only Scottish firm involved in the consortium. Based in Edinburgh, it is part of the Galliford Try group which has 3,700 staff UK-wide including 700 in Scotland. The firm is currently working on the M74 extension, which is due to re-open later this year.