Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
28 July 2003


          £60 MILLION OF NEW PFI CONTRACTING WORK FOR BALFOUR BEATTY

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
announces today that a joint venture between Balfour Beatty Construction and
Balfour Kilpatrick has been awarded two contracts with a total value of over £60
million to work as a contractor on behalf of two special purpose companies for
PFI schemes.

The joint venture has been awarded the £44.5 million design and build contract
for new schools in Halifax, West Yorkshire for Calderdale Metropolitan Borough
Council.  The new schools are being developed by Babcock and Brown Properties
under a PFI contract.  The scheme comprises the construction of four new
secondary schools and one new primary school, all to be built on the site of
existing schools.

The other project is the £16 million West Park PFI Mental Health Hospital
contract for the County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust.  The
new hospital is being developed by Mill Group under a PFI contract.  Sandy
Taylor, Chief Executive of County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS
Trust, said:  'This development will put us at the forefront of care.
Environment and design are central in the treatment of people with mental health
problems and the new hospital will provide the perfect surroundings for
patients, their families and staff.'

Commenting on these latest awards, Mike Welton, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive
said:  'These latest contracts confirm the market's confidence in our ability to
deliver PFI projects in a range of sectors.  We are delighted to be working with
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council and County Durham and Darlington
Priority Services NHS Trust to build these additional facilities which will
offer substantial benefits to the local community.'

The two jobs are scheduled for completion in autumn 2005 and autumn 2004
respectively.


Enquiries to:
Tim Sharp
Tel: [phone]
www.balfourbeatty.com


Notes to Editors

Balfour Beatty already has four concessions in the healthcare sector, the
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, North Durham and Blackburn Hospitals, through Consort
Healthcare, and the University College London Hospital through HMU.  The total
construction value of these four projects is approaching £650 million.  Balfour
Beatty's equity contribution to these hospital projects is around £30 million.

In the education sector, Balfour Beatty recently reached financial close on a
£100 million PFI schools project for the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham.
This is in addition to the £153 million Stoke Schools contract, the largest
grouped schools project in England, under which the company is building nine new
schools and progressively refurbishing the remainder of the entire 122 schools
estate.

Through the Babcock and Brown consortium, Balfour Beatty Construction is also
the design and build partner for three major school developments with a combined
construction value of over £81 million.

Full details of Balfour Beatty's involvement in PPP/PFI are available on
www.balfourbeattyppp.com.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange