{"id":826608,"date":"2025-02-13T07:11:48","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T13:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/13\/heathrow-commits-to-using-uk-steel-in-multibillion-pound-expansion-plan\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T07:11:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T13:11:48","slug":"heathrow-commits-to-using-uk-steel-in-multibillion-pound-expansion-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/13\/heathrow-commits-to-using-uk-steel-in-multibillion-pound-expansion-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Heathrow commits to using UK steel in \u2018multibillion-pound\u2019 expansion plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Heathrow Airport\u2019s boss has announced a multibillion-pound plan to build new infrastructure while \u201claying the groundwork\u201d for its long-proposed third runway.<\/p>\n

In a speech this morning (12 February) at British Steel\u2019s plant in Scunthorpe, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye also signed the UK Steel Charter.<\/p>\n

This commits Heathrow to \u201cusing UK-made steel for its construction projects wherever possible, giving a major boost to the sector\u201d, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).<\/p>\n

Woldbye said: \u201cI am today confirming multibillion-pound investment plans, 100 per cent privately funded, to upgrade our terminal buildings, enhance passenger experience, and improve resilience and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the \u201clargest investment programme\u201d in Heathrow\u2019s history was \u201claying the groundwork for a third runway, boosting UK investment and economic growth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Woldbye\u2019s speech came a fortnight after chancellor Rachel Reeves backed the third runway<\/a>. She said in late January that the lack of extra capacity at Heathrow was \u201cdamaging\u201d.<\/p>\n

Reeves added: \u201cWe cannot duck the decision any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the airport would not specify exactly how much it planned to invest in its latest expansion plans.<\/p>\n

But in a statement accompanying Woldbye\u2019s speech, Heathrow said full details of the investment programme \u201cand the pathway to a third runway\u201d will be submitted to the government this summer.<\/p>\n

Woldbye said that Heathrow\u2019s new investment plan would involve a \u201cUK-wide supply chain\u201d, including the structural steel sector.<\/p>\n

Giving a keynote address before his speech, industry minister Sarah Jones said: \u201cDriving demand for UK-made steel is a crucial part of our upcoming Steel Strategy, and by signing the Steel Charter, Heathrow will give a huge boost to steelmaking communities across the UK and help us kickstart economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gareth Stace, director general of trade body UK Steel, also welcomed Woldbye\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeathrow\u2019s decision to prioritise domestic steel\u2026 reinforces the strength and resilience of the UK supply chain,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The airport spokesperson told Construction News <\/em>that construction of Terminal 5 (which opened in 2008) required 80,000 tonnes of steel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe construction of Terminal 5 required approximately 18,500 tonnes of steel for the main terminal\u2019s roof alone, with an additional 1,100 tonnes used [just] for the air traffic control tower,\u201d said trade body UK Steel.<\/p>\n

The DBT cited estimates that a third runway for the airport would require 400,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Clemens, chief executive of the British Constructional Steelwork Association, told CN <\/em>that he did not envisage major capacity challenges to meet potential future demand from Heathrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts are that the UK registered fabricator market can manage this as it is a professional substantive and significant sector with the capability to produce all the UK\u2019s infrastructure and building requirements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of capacity and capability, even conservative estimates say the structural steel market can handle at least 300kt [300,000 tonnes] per annum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clemens added that this estimate \u201cignores current multimillion investments being made into automation, skills and digitisation\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Ben Vogel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heathrow Airport\u2019s boss has announced a multibillion-pound plan to build new infrastructure while \u201claying the groundwork\u201d for its long-proposed third runway. In a speech this morning (12 February) at British Steel\u2019s plant in Scunthorpe, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye also signed the UK Steel Charter. This commits Heathrow to \u201cusing UK-made steel for its construction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":826609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32272,40281],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-826608","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"category-heathrow"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}