Balfour has won a £34m contract for the new UK Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility in Yorkshire.

The firm has also reached financial close with its joint venture partner Urbaser for the £800m Essex Waste Partnership’s Residual Waste Treatment Contract.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said: “These two projects, combined with our recent preferred bidder status for the Gloucestershire Residual Waste Project, strengthen our position in the growing waste sector in the UK.

“They demonstrate the flexibility of our investment business model as well as our ability to harness the skills within the Group to take advantage of opportunities in growth sectors.”

Balfour has a 30% share of the Essex deal which is a 28-year PPP contract to design, build and operate a new sustainable waste treatment facility for Essex County Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council.

Construction is due to commence in early 2013.

The MBT facility project in Yorkshire is for Shanks Waste Management Limited in partnership with Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham councils.

The facility will treat up to 265,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste each year.