IN Brief:
- KierBAM has moved from enabling works to the main construction phase of the 10 Dock redevelopment.
- The circa £600m package includes a water-retaining boundary, rock anchors, concrete structures, and nuclear-licensed components.
- The upgraded dock is intended to support deep maintenance and availability of Royal Navy submarines.
KierBAM has secured a contract worth approximately £600m to carry out the principal civil engineering works on 10 Dock at Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth. The joint venture between Kier and BAM will deliver the next phase of Babcock’s redevelopment programme, providing infrastructure designed for the deep maintenance of Royal Navy submarines. The Ministry of Defence-funded award takes the project beyond its enabling phase and into major construction.
The package covers a water-retaining boundary structure and nuclear-licensed components, alongside extensive work on the dock’s concrete and ground-support systems. KierBAM is responsible for buttresses, new subways and in-situ subway structures, with rock anchors, dowels, reinforcement and a multi-tonne caisson also included. These elements form part of a tightly integrated waterfront structure where retaining water, controlling ground loads and accommodating vessel-support operations all have to be considered together.
During its early involvement at Devonport, KierBAM commissioned an on-site concrete batching plant and established logistics, welfare, office and other supporting facilities. Those preparations enable materials and personnel to reach the dock construction area while the naval and industrial site remains operational. Concrete production on site also provides a controlled supply for the substantial permanent works, with deliveries, pours and access arrangements coordinated around dockyard activity. The main contract moves those preparations into a programme of permanent structures.
The water-retaining boundary must separate the marine environment from the dock’s working area while resisting hydraulic and ground loads. Buttresses and reinforced concrete structures provide load-bearing elements, while the specified rock anchors and dowels connect new works with supporting material. Their design depends on the loads and ground conditions established for the dock. The construction team must also sequence these works alongside the caisson and subway structures, where access and temporary support will affect how permanent components are installed.
Babcock operates Devonport and is delivering the 10 Dock redevelopment through its Major Nuclear Capital Programmes business unit on behalf of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. The upgraded dock is intended to provide capacity for deep maintenance of Royal Navy submarines. That work requires a dry, accessible and structurally suitable environment for lengthy maintenance operations, so the civil infrastructure is part of the site’s long-term maintenance capability. KierBAM’s contract marks the move from enabling works to the main build.
Alongside the retaining boundary, the awarded scope includes buttresses, new subways, in-situ subway structures, reinforcement, rock anchors, dowels and a multi-tonne caisson. These separate components need compatible tolerances and construction interfaces: the reinforced works carry structural loads, while the caisson and boundary are associated with controlling water at the dock. Further dock-floor, lifting and vessel-support installations may form part of the wider redevelopment, but the £600m value is the stated KierBAM contract, not an itemised price for every facility in Babcock’s wider investment programme.
Devonport is a live dockyard with nuclear-licensed operations, placing the civils programme within a regulated working environment. Temporary access, deliveries, lifting operations and construction interfaces must be planned against existing industrial activity and the controls applying to licensed components. The batching plant and logistics facilities commissioned earlier in the programme give the main works a dedicated construction base. Permanent structures still need to be delivered in a sequence compatible with dock operations and the design requirements of the waterfront facility.
Kier and BAM have worked at Devonport during the project’s early contractor involvement phase, allowing the joint venture to develop its understanding of the site before the principal award. Kier Infrastructure managing director for energy and environment Craig Small said that experience would support delivery of the next phase. The joint venture has also contributed to other complex nuclear and defence engineering programmes, including work at Hinkley Point C, providing an established delivery team for the dock’s heavy civil engineering requirements.
The wider 10 Dock programme is expected by Babcock to support around 1,500 jobs across its supply chain, including about 300 Babcock roles at Devonport. Those figures describe the broader programme, not a recruitment commitment attached solely to the £600m civils contract. The work is also expected to create opportunities for local suppliers and apprentices as the main build progresses, subject to procurement and individual contract packages.
Devonport Royal Dockyard was established in 1691 and remains co-located with HM Naval Base Devonport. The upgrade extends the dockyard’s ability to maintain the Navy’s present and future submarine fleets, while the construction phase will involve heavy reinforced concrete works, retaining structures and regulated site interfaces. KierBAM now moves from its preparatory facilities to the permanent infrastructure that will define 10 Dock’s next operating life.
