Birmingham City Council has directly awarded the contractor a fresh two-year interim deal from 1 August 2026, with an option to extend it by a further nine months until April 2029.

The move keeps Kier in charge of the city’s highways network while the council works towards a long-term replacement for one of the UK’s biggest PFI road maintenance contracts.

Kier has maintained Birmingham’s highways since April 2020 after stepping in following the collapse of Amey’s troubled £2.7bn PFI deal.

The contractor was later selected as preferred bidder for a restructured long-term contract worth around £600m, but the project stalled when the Department for Transport decided to withdraw support for continued PFI funding.

Although Birmingham City Council successfully overturned that decision through Judicial Review in 2024, a permanent funding solution has yet to be agreed.

The council said the extension was needed to guarantee uninterrupted highway maintenance while the council procures a long-term replacement.