Scope of Work
Categories:
Submarine Cable Installation
Lifecycle Stages:
Construction
Cable Specifications:
TypeHVDC
Purposeinterconnector
Voltage320 kV
Route Length69 km
Source text:
Balfour Beatty installed the ±320 kV ElecLink HVDC interconnector cables, laying two parallel cables along roughly 69 km between converter stations in Kent (UK) and northern France, predominantly within the Channel Tunnel’s North tunnel, and connecting them into the terminal converter stations.
Contract Details
Contract Value:€140M
Adjusted to 2025:€177.1M
Currency:EUR
Award Date:23 Jan 2017
Client:
ElecLink Limited
Description
ElecLink Ltd awarded Balfour Beatty, in consortium with Prysmian Group, a contract of around €219 million to install the ElecLink electricity interconnector cable between France and Great Britain through the Channel Tunnel. Balfour Beatty’s share, valued at about €140 million, covers the engineering and execution of the HVDC cable installation, including laying two approximately 50 km ±320 kV cables in the North tunnel and connecting them to the converter stations in northern France and Kent. The company developed specialised transport and installation systems, used offsite jointing facilities in Calais and Folkestone to assemble 2.5 km sections, and employed detailed computer modelling to plan the works. This created the world’s first installation of an HVDC interconnector in a live rail tunnel environment during the project’s construction phase.