It is the third extra payment for work on the southern route taking total additional payments to £650m.

The award relates to planned and agreed changes to the scope of works under the contract.

Skanska’s share of the total contract sum is now valued at around £1.425bn, up from £1.12bn when the contract was signed in April 2020.

The JV is split 34% Skanska, 34% Costain and 32% Strabag. When the JV contract was first awarded it was valued at around £3.3bn and is now up to around £4.2bn.

Since being given notice to proceed by HS2 in April 2020, significant progress has been made.

Two tunnel boring machines started operations in late 2022, with a further two which started operations in early 2024 and a total of four TBMs now operational.

These TBMs are building 13.5km of twin bored tunnels between West Ruislip and the new high speed rail super hub station at Old Oak Common. A fifth TBM, to create a logistics tunnel, completed its journey in January 2024.

SCS is presently in talks with the new Government around funding to start the final TBM drives from Old Oak Common station box to the Euston terminus.

Two final TBMs that will complete the drive to London Euston are currently in manufacture and will be lowered into the underground box at Old Oak Common later this year.

SCS is presently in talks with Government around timings and funding for the construction of the final Euston Tunnel drive.