National Grid Electricity Transmission has appointed BAM UK & Ireland to deliver southern converter station works at Walpole, Norfolk, for Eastern Green Link 3, according to a BAM press release, extending BAM’s role to both ends of a 2GW Scotland-England link.

BAM UK & Ireland, a construction and infrastructure contractor within Netherlands-based Royal BAM Group, said the award builds on its energy transmission portfolio, including Eastern Green Link 2 and grid works for SSEN Transmission in Scotland.

Eastern Green Link 3 is a proposed 2GW high-voltage link between Peterhead in Aberdeenshire and Walpole in Norfolk, jointly developed by SSEN Transmission, the transmission owner for the north of Scotland, and National Grid Electricity Transmission, the transmission owner for England and Wales.

Mott MacDonald, a global engineering and development consultancy, will support BAM as lead civil and structural designer at Walpole, according to the release.

BAM UK & Ireland Executive Director for Infrastructure Huw Jones said in the release that BAM now holds civil works at both ends of the link, while Project Director Mark Brackley called the award an important step for network investment.

The project’s timetable is long, with New Civil Engineer reporting that, subject to secretary of state approval, construction is due to start in 2028 and the link is forecast to be energised in 2033.

Equipment suppliers are already contracted: NKT signed a turnkey cable contract valued at over €2.2bn, according to its press release, and Hitachi Energy will deliver the converter stations, with New Civil Engineer putting the combined contracts at almost £3bn (€3.6bn).

The northern Peterhead contract is still to come: SSEN Transmission said, as reported by Construction News, that a follow-on contract for detailed design and construction is due to be awarded in 2027.

For the sector, a contractor holding early works at one end and construction at the other positions itself to carry design and interface knowledge across both converter stations, while the staged awards show contractors on HVDC links being appointed early and in phases.