Contract Awarded

BICC PLC
21 September 1999


NEW BALFOUR BEATTY CONTRACTS IN ROAD BUILDING AND ROAD MANAGEMENT
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Balfour  Beatty,  the construction, engineering and services group,  announces
today  that  it has been awarded the $67 million US 59/Fort Bend  County  road
construction  project  by  the Texas Department of Transportation.   This  new
contract is further evidence of Balfour Beatty's growing strength as a  leader
in civil engineering projects in the USA.

The  project will involve the total reconstruction of the 4.1 km two-lane dual
main line freeway located on the south-west side of Houston, Texas, to a four-
lane dual carriageway.

Also  announced today is the appointment of Raynesway Construction,  the  term
maintenance  arm  of Balfour Beatty, as preferred bidder for  Worcestershire's
Highway  and Vehicle Maintenance.  The contract is for £30 million  over  five
years.

Balfour  Beatty  is  already responsible for road management  and  maintenance
contracts  for  local authorities in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire,  Hampshire
and  Surrey  (some  19,000  km in all) and for the Highways  Agency  in  Avon,
Gloucestershire,  Hampshire,  Surrey, West  Sussex  and  parts  of  Wiltshire,
Somerset,  Oxfordshire,  Berkshire and Dorset.  In addition,  it  manages  and
maintains  the  group's  Design, Build, Finance  and  Operate  concessions  in
Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Devon and Dorset.


Enquiries to:
Tim Sharp
BICC Group
Tel: [phone]